Rep. Pete Stauber (R-MN-08) said in a recent interview that he wants all Minnesotans to know House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA-12) has had the updated North American trade agreement on her desk “for over a year now.”
Stauber has targeted Pelosi in recent weeks for failing to bring the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) up for a vote in the House.
“If we voted on the USMCA today, it would pass the House with bipartisan support,” he said on Twitter. “Unfortunately, Speaker Pelosi is more interested in partisan impeachment than clinching bipartisan wins for the nation. Enough is enough. The time to pass the USMCA is now.”
If we voted on the USMCA today, it would pass the House w/bipartisan support. Unfortunately, Speaker Pelosi is more interested in partisan impeachment than clinching bipartisan wins for the nation.
Enough is enough.
The time to pass the USMCA is now.https://t.co/wpQIkyU4cq
— Pete Stauber (@RepPeteStauber) November 19, 2019
He said Speaker Pelosi is “wasting our time” after she claimed that the House might not have enough time to pass the USMCA this year.
“She should stop wasting our time with partisan impeachment proceedings and finally bring this critical trade agreement to the House floor for a vote,” said Stauber.
Speaker Pelosi just claimed that we don't have enough time to pass the USMCA this year.
She should stop wasting our time with partisan impeachment proceedings and finally bring this critical trade agreement to the House Floor for a vote! https://t.co/aseoDZyVXQ
— Pete Stauber (@RepPeteStauber) November 21, 2019
The first-term congressman elaborated on his comments in a recent interview with Duluth News Tribune. He told the outlet that the impeachment proceedings are “sucking the life” out of Congress.
“The way I look at it, we need to get back to work for the American people,” he said. “I want people to understand USMCA has been on Speaker Pelosi’s desk for over a year now, and just a week ago she said we may not have time to get it passed—and that is because this impeachment is sucking the life out of our nation’s capital in terms of doing what we were sent here to do and taking care of the people’s business.”
Vice President Mike Pence called on Congress to pass the USMCA during a visit to Minnesota earlier this year. He said Minnesota farmers are “having a hard time” because “Congress isn’t acting and passing the USMCA.”
“The USMCA will give American the level playing field they need to win,” the vice president said.
Speaker Pelosi had previously claimed that the passage of the USMCA was “imminent,” but said in late November that there might not “be enough time to finish.”
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Anthony Gockowski is managing editor of Battleground State News, The Ohio Star, and The Minnesota Sun. Follow Anthony on Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Image “Rep. Pete Stabuer” by C-Span.org.
