Washington, DC (October 12, 2011) Today, Congressman Steve Pearce voted in favor of the free trade agreements with South Korea, Columbia, and Panama.

"I support these efforts to expand free trade, and to foster American job growth by keeping America competitive internationally," said Pearce. "The trade agreements that passed through the House will boost exports, creating jobs and bolstering our economy. The agreement with South Korea alone will create 1,300 jobs in New Mexico, according to the Korean Embassy. By putting Americans back to work, we can begin to ease the burden that our economic crisis has had on New Mexico families."

"Agreements to expand market access and increase exports by the U.S. have been talked about widely in the media," Pearce continued. "However, they have to originate in the White House. The House passed these agreements within 9 days of receiving them, despite the President's two-year refusal to send these legitimate, commonsense proposals to Congress. In addition to trade, I agree with the President on other issues concerning job growth, including tax relief for small businesses, reducing the regulatory burden and tax credits for hiring veterans."

"As we saw last night, even the Democrat-controlled Senate refused to bring President Obama's jobs bill to the floor for consideration, and also failed to pass its own version. His own party did not want to vote for the irresponsible aspects of his package, including tax increases and giveaways to the well connected, and clearly did not support the same failed stimulus policies that will not create real jobs. It is time to get our economy moving, and to vote in support of actual reforms that will create jobs."