U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-Willsboro, said Tuesday she would vote against the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership in its current version, but it is a moot point because the current version of the trade agreement will not come up for a vote.
[Maury Thompson | August 09, 2016 | Post Star]
“I have concerns of the current draft of the TPP. I have raised those concerns directly with our U.S. trade representatives,” she said, speaking with reporters after a roundtable meeting about heroin and opiate issues at SUNY Adirondack in Queensbury.
“That is not going to come up for a vote. Earlier this week we heard from Speaker Ryan that will not come up for a vote in this Congress, and it will be renegotiated in the next Congress,” she continued.
Stefanik said she has concerns about how the proposed trade agreement between the United States and 11 other nations would affect dairy exports and about labor provisions.
Stefanik is running for re-election in the 21st Congressional District against Democrat Mike Derrick, a retired Army colonel from Peru, in Clinton County, and Green Party candidate Matt Funiciello, a bread company owner and political activist from Hudson Falls.
Stefanik said she has met with the New York State Farm Bureau and representatives of manufacturers and labor unions to discuss potential impact of TPP.
“So it’s not going to come up for a vote in its current form, and I believe it needs to be renegotiated in the next Congress,” she said.
Asked specifically if she would vote in favor of the legislation in its current version, if it did come up for a vote, Stefanik said, “In its current form – no.”
