Brooklyn, N.Y. – Congresswoman Yvette D. Clarke released the following statement opposing attempts to divert resources from critical programs such as Medicare to offset the cost of the Trade Adjustment Assistance program(TAA), a program that provides retraining and employment assistance to workers who lose their jobs due to the impact of free trade agreements.

In a letter sent to Speaker John Boehner and Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi, Congresswoman Clarke and sixty of her colleagues in the House of Representatives explained that reductions in the Medicare program could ultimately threaten the stability of the program and impose substantial costs on future generations who will depend on Medicare in their retirement.

“We should compensate workers and small business owners who are harmed by free trade agreements that have the potential, in some instances, to create a ‘race to the bottom.’ But we cannot afford to undermine Medicare, which provides access to comprehensive health care for fifty million Americans, or any other vital program. We have a responsibility to protect the legacy we share of providing health care that allows Americans to retire with security. I urge Speaker Boehner and Democratic Leader Pelosi to consider alternatives that will allow us to keep Medicare secure for the generations that will follow us.”

Congresswoman Yvette D. Clarke is a member of the Committee on Energy and Commerce in the House of Representatives, a member of the Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade, the Subcommittee on Communications and Technology, and the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, as well as the Committee on Ethics and the Committee of Small Business. She represents many neighborhoods in central and southern Brooklyn, NY which include Brownsville, Crown Heights, East Flatbush, Flatbush, Gerritsen Beach, Madison, Midwood, parts of Park Slope and Flatlands, Prospect Heights, Prospect-Lefferts Gardens, Sheepshead Bay, and Windsor Terrace.