Clinton Comes Out Against the TPP

On Wednesday, Hillary Rodham Clinton announced that she is against the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). Clinton was asked about the agreement at an event today in Mt. Vernon, Iowa, but she also discussed the TPP on PBS’s NewsHour during an interview with Judy Woodruff. Her opposition of the deal is in direct conflict with President Barack Obama and his administration, but the deal does face a tough battle in Congress. In addition to speaking about the TPP during the interview, Clinton also released a statement explaining in more detail why she is opposed to the deal. A copy of the statement is below. A video from Clinton’s full interview on PBS NewsHour is above.

Hillary Clinton Statement on Trans-Pacific Partnership

I’m continuing to learn about the details of the new Trans-Pacific Partnership, including looking hard at what’s in there to crack down on currency manipulation, which kills American jobs, and to make sure we’re not putting the interests of drug companies ahead of patients and consumers.  But based on what I know so far, I can’t support this agreement.

As I have said many times, we need to be sure that new trade deals meet clear tests:  They have to create good American jobs, raise wages, and advance our national security.  The bar has to be set very high for two reasons.

First, too often over the years we haven’t gotten the balance right on trade.  We’ve seen that even a strong deal can fall short on delivering the promised benefits.  So I don’t believe we can afford to keep giving new agreements the benefit of the doubt.  The risks are too high that, despite our best efforts, they will end up doing more harm than good for hard-working American families whose paychecks have barely budged in years.

Second, we can’t look at this in a vacuum.  Years of Republican obstruction at home have weakened U.S. competitiveness and made it harder for Americans who lose jobs and pay because of trade to get back on their feet.  Republicans have blocked the investments that we need and that President Obama has proposed in infrastructure, education, clean energy, and innovation.  They’ve refused to raise the minimum wage or defend workers’ rights or adequately fund job training.

As a result, America is less competitive than we should be.  Workers have fewer protections, the potential positive effects of trade are diminished, and the negative effects are exacerbated. We’re going into this with one arm tied behind our backs.

I still believe in the goal of a strong and fair trade agreement in the Pacific as part of a broader strategy both at home and abroad, just as I did when I was Secretary of State.  I appreciate the hard work that President Obama and his team put into this process and recognize the strides they made.  But the bar here is very high and, based on what I have seen, I don’t believe this agreement has met it.

For all the latest, follow our Scheduled Events page and follow Clinton on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

News Source: PBS NewsHour, The Briefing

Clinton Hosts Community Events in Iowa

For her second day in Iowa, Clinton attended two town hall events. The first was at Cornell College in Mt. Vernon. Clinton spoke briefly about the primary points of her platform before taking questions from those in attendance. Among the topics that Clinton covered were gun control, Kim Davis’, Rowan County, Kentucky County Clerk, refusal to issue marriage licenses to gay couples, and her distaste for super PACs. Specifically about PACs and their lack of transparency, Clinton said, “I and others have said we’re not going to unilaterally disarm while the Republicans and the Koch brothers are out there raising money that they don’t even tell you where it came from.”

Later in the afternoon, Clinton took part in a town hall at the Westfair Amphitheater on the fairgrounds in Council Bluffs. Clinton addressed a number of topics including the economy, equal pay for women, immigration reform, gun control, and making higher education more affordable. Heath care continues to be a topic for concern for Clinton, and she continues to call for lower prescription drug prices saying, “We need people who are just going to rise up —you have to sell drugs at affordable prices in this country. That’s what I’m going to be fighting for every single day.”

Videos from today’s events will be posted when/if available.

Tomorrow, Clinton is going to outline her plans for Wall Street reform and regulation, and she will be on hand at the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute Gala to present the CHCI Chair’s Medallion Award to world-renowned chef José Andrés. For all the latest, follow our Scheduled Events page and follow Clinton on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

News Source: Omaha World-Herald, The Des Moines Register (1) (2)

Clinton Hosts Iowa Events

On Tuesday, Hillary Rodham Clinton hosted two events in the key swing state of Iowa. She began the day at a community forum in Davenport. During the event, Clinton spoke about heath care saying that more needed to be done to give Iowans and Americans more affordable choices. She also spoke about gun control and called for background checks, reducing higher education costs, and fighting poverty. She also criticized Jeb Bush for his “stuff happens” comment in regards to the mass shooting in Oregon. Bush was campaigning nearby Bettendorf. After speaking briefly, Clinton took questions from the crowd. Videos from the event in Davenport are below.

Following the event, Clinton took the the streets in Davenport where she met with voters and went shopping in a local market. Later in the day, Clinton attended an organizing event at the Strawberry Farm Bed and Breakfast in Muscatine. Clinton, again, spoke about her plans as president, but she took a moment to talk about her Republican rivals and their difficulty naming any of her accomplishments as Secretary of State in the recent Republican debate. So, she sent them each a copy of her book! She said, “You know, I hear the Republicans talking from time to time in their debates and elsewhere and they say things like, ‘Oh, I don’t know what she accomplished as Secretary of State. She didn’t accomplish anything.’ I listened to that for a while. And then I thought maybe they just don’t know, so I have now sent each of them a copy of my book, Hard Choices, about what we did during those four years.” She joked that there are enough candidates running on the Republican ticket that they could start a book club. She then went on to discuss a number of her accomplishments at the State Department.

Tomorrow, Clinton remains in Iowa where she is scheduled to participate in events in Mt. Vernon and Councils Bluff. For all the latest, follow our Scheduled Events page and follow Clinton on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

UPDATE: Added video from Muscatine event.

News Source: The New York Times, Time