July 27, 2010—Washington, DC—Rep. Perriello has joined with members of the House Trade Working Group to oppose President Obama’s recent announcement that he will work to send the Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement to be approved by Congress. Perriello has consistently opposed more NAFTA-style free trade agreements because of their devastating effects on manufacturing and industry in Central and Southern Virginia.

“Southside Virginia has continued to suffer under NAFTA and the WTO: 5,900 5th district jobs lost to China between 2001 and 2008. We need better trade that benefits American workers, not deals that will send our jobs offshore. We must go after China aggressively for illegal dumping and for manipulating its currency. I have consistently stood up to both parties on this issue and affirm that we cannot have any new NAFTA-style agreements and must put American workers first again,” said Rep. Perriello.

Since becoming a member of the House Trade Working Group and the Populist Caucus, Rep. Perriello has been active in blocking efforts to expand job-killing free trade agreements and supporting efforts to bolster American manufacturing. When the Obama Administration tried last year to pass the Columbia and Panama Free Trade Agreements, Perriello joined with his colleagues to successfully stop them. He also fought to block illegal Chinese “dumping” of rubber that could hurt the tire industry in America and its related jobs. Among Perriello’s actions are:

July 28, 2010--Ivy, VA--Lise Clavel, campaign manager for the Perriello campaign, released the following statement:

"After reversing his position on debating all candidates, Sen. Hurt has said no to debates that include independent conservative candidate Jeff Clark, even though Mr. Clark has met the Virginia standard to qualify as a candidate. In these brutal economic times when the stakes are so high, Tom wants to give voters every chance to hear from all candidates, so he will commit to two televised debates that include all the candidates and two head-to-head debates with Sen. Hurt. While Tom believes voters should have the opportunity to hear every candidate on the ballot every time, this compromise seems like the only way Sen. Hurt will allow the process to move forward without being too scared to have a real debate that respects independents."

 Hurt Refuses to Oppose Korean Free Trade Agreement, Would Protect Tax Breaks for Companies that Ship Jobs Overseas

July 28, 2010--Ivy, VA--Despite representing Southern Virginia during the worst job losses in our area's history, Sen. Robert Hurt still refuses to oppose trade agreements that send American jobs overseas. Again yesterday, he refused to oppose expanding NAFTA-style agreements to cover South Korea and other countries. Yesterday, Rep. Perriello reiterated his opposition to those bad deals. Rep. Perriello has voted to close the outsourcing tax loopholes for companies that ship jobs overseas, while Robert Hurt has already pledged to Washington groups to protect those tax breaks.

"Only a career politician like Sen. Hurt could be so out of touch; while 5th district constituents lost 5,900 jobs since he's been in office because of our trade deficit with China, he simply has no opinion on the very issues that have killed jobs in our community. Instead of representing the district, he has literally promised to answer to corporate groups in Washington,” said Lise Clavel, campaign manager for the Perriello campaign. "Tom has the courage to challenge his own president and the powerful corporate interests to do what is right for American workers. Sadly, Sen. Hurt seems willing to take the path of least resistance that leaves his own neighbors unemployed. What's worse, when jobs are shipped overseas, he'll continue to oppose unemployment benefits for our citizens who have lost their jobs because of these deals. Tom fights Wall Street and Washington special interests to give the working and middle class a chance while others sell out Southside Virginia."   

 House Also Approves Perriello’s Resolution Honoring Railroad Retirement Day

Today, the U.S. House of Representatives passed two of Congressman Tom Perriello’s bills with unanimous bipartisan consent. The Surface Transportation Savings Act of 2010 (H.R. 5604), which passed 402-0, would rescind $106.8 million in unspent transportation funds from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the Federal Transit Administration. These funds are not available for use by these agencies in fiscal year 2010, and the savings achieved from this legislation will be used to reduce the national deficit.



“I’m glad to have brought together both parties on common-sense deficit reduction. My bill reclaims $107 million in transportation funds that agencies were not using in order to help pay down the national debt before Congress finds some new way to spend it. It’s a small step, like keeping my office expenses under budget and blocking congressional pay raises, but at least a step in the right direction,” said Perriello.



 July 20, 1010--Ivy, VA--Lise Clavel, campaign manager for the Perriello campaign, released the following statement about the SurveyUSA poll conducted for WDBJ7 that was released today. 

 "Everyone knows that SurveyUSA polls are useless; even Sen. Hurt's campaign manager has admitted that. This is the same poll that had us down 34 points in 2008, and we all know how that story turned out. The fact is that every credible poll this year has had Tom Perriello ahead or tied. We know this will be a tight race, and we know Tom’s hard work and commitment to the hardworking families he represents will lead him to re-election this fall."