Rangel On NAFTA Expansion: "If You're Hurting, Then It's A Bad Deal"

House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charles Rangel (D-NY), the chief architect of the the Peru Free Trade Agreement that expands NAFTA, he appeared on CNN Thursday night [1]. In the midst of congratulating himself for passing the NAFTA expansion through the House this week, he acknowledged that the pact will crush American workers, saying:

"We haven't protected those people that have lost jobs as a result of trade or those people who just don't find industry in their communities...And so if you're hurting, then [the Peru agreement] is a bad deal."

This is stunning, even for Washington. The chief proponent of a bill earlier today was selling this bill on the House floor as a great achievement for the middle class that has been crushed by lobbyist-written trade policies. Then hours later after the votes are already cast, he goes on national television to admit that, actually it is true - the bill "is a bad deal" for workers who are hurting.