WASHINGTON—Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC) Co-Chairs Reps. Raúl M. Grijalva (D-AZ) and Keith Ellison (D-MN) released the following statement after introducing an amendment to The Trade Act in the Rules Committee.

“The Trade Act continues to force seniors to pay for trade deals that destroy American jobs. Chairman Ryan is attempting to change how Trade Adjustment Assistance is funded in a separate bill, but it’s nothing more than a bait-and-switch effort to gin up support for a quick passage of Trade Promotion Authority. There is no guarantee the Senate will pass the separate bill removing Medicare cuts. The only way to ensure seniors won’t be hurt is to remove these cuts from The Trade Act itself. If Chairman Ryan recognizes the need to protect seniors from these cuts in separate legislation, why not remove the cuts completely?

“Seniors should not have to pay when trade deals go bad. A vote for The Trade Act is a vote to cut Medicare. Progressives will oppose any bill that includes Medicare cuts.”

The Progressive Caucus amendment removes the Medicare cut, increases overall funding for Trade Adjustment Assistance to $575 million and expands Trade Adjustment Assistance to include public sector workers.