Loebsack Sits Down For Coffee And Conversation
Congressman Dave Loebsack (standing) visits with Smokey Row patrons on Saturday afternoon.
Oskaloosa, Iowa – A little coffee break is a common way for people to catch up and share ideas.
Congressman Dave Loebsack made four stops for coffee in the Second Congressional District on Saturday. Smokey Row in Oskaloosa was one of those places where he came to chat with patrons and gather feedback about concerns they may have.
Loebsack said that he has been receiving concerns over the trade bill that has made its way to Congress. The bill is an example of a house divided, primarily down party lines. “A lot of concerns about any trade agreement,” Loebsack said of the bill. The legislation has kept Washington busy for nearly 3 weeks, and Loebsack says he doesn’t want to see a bill that will “ship jobs overseas, and does the right thing for the American economy.”
“That’s why I voted against Trade Promotion Authority,” said Loebsack. “I want to make sure I have as much input into the process as I possibly can, and not give that authority over to the President.”
Since 1974, Congress has enacted TPA legislation that defines U.S. negotiating objectives and priorities for trade agreements and establishes consultation and notification requirements for the President to follow throughout the negotiation process. At the end of the negotiation and consultation process, Congress gives the agreement an up or down vote, without amendment. TPA reaffirms Congress’s overall constitutional role in the development and oversight of U.S. trade policy.
Not to let his domestic policy fall by the wayside, President Obama conspired with Republicans to bypass the House Democrats who had rebuffed him in an earlier effort to attempt to pass his trade agenda.
Obama’s trade agenda may have been given new life, but it’s far from law. It now heads to the Senate where they must vote on the bill next week.
Loebsack said that he’s hearing about the economy, “even though the unemployment rate is very good in Iowa, not all the jobs are the same quality that we use to have. That’s really the big issue.”
Customers, around a table inside Smokey Row, asked Loebsack about bipartisanship and both sides coming together for the good of the country. “That’s a real issue,” said Loebsack.
Loebsack used the example of bipartisan support on the Energy and Commerce Committee on which he serves. Loebsack used the 21st Century Cures bill that recently moved out of the committee by a vote of 51-0. The bill will help increase research, and in turn make that research available for cures for diseases. “There are some things like that happening,” added Loebsack.
“I’m a little bit more optimistic than I use to be,” Loebsack said in regards to bipartisanship. “We’ve really got to convince the leadership on both sides of the aisle, that those of us not in leadership, that we’re right. That the American people are tired of this.”
