Is Obama sacrificing U.S. workers on Big Labor’s altar?

On Dec. 5, 2010, USA Today quoted President Obama as urging
congressional approval of the trade deal with South Korea by saying, “We
have to do more to accelerate the economic recovery and create jobs for
the millions of Americans who are still looking for work.”

One problem: It is now June 8, 2011, and the South Korea trade deal has not even been submitted by President Obama to Congress.

That’s December, January, February, March, April, May and now June — six
full months — half a year — since Obama made his bold statement. For
some reason, the president has not gotten around to sending the
agreement to the U.S. Senate for approval.

Is it because the employment situation has improved so dramatically in the U.S. that we don’t need the new jobs that the president claims will be created?

Is it because our economic recovery is so astoundingly out of control that the Federal Reserve is raising interest rates to cool it off?

No?

The only reason that the president is not submitting HIS free trade agreement with South Korea is because his labor union allies are demanding the expansion of a government program to provide billions of dollars to their members for retraining.

Either the agreement that Obama negotiated and signed is good for the economy or it isn’t. His failure to submit the South Korea Free Trade Agreement to the U.S. Senate for ratification is either an indication that he was not telling the truth when he boldly proclaimed that the trade pact was good for American jobs, or we have to conclude that he cares more about his labor union campaign funders than the American worker.

Sen. Orrin Hatch (R) of Utah has urged the president to get off the pot and submit the South Korea, Colombia and Panama free trade agreements that Obama inherited from the Bush administration to the Senate for consideration without any strings attached.

I agree.

It is time to stop holding American workers hostage by attaching spending schemes designed to benefit Obama’s political allies to the agreements and allow the Senate to ratify the South Korea, Colombia and Panama agreements.

It is time for America to welcome these important allies as equal trade partners rather than continuing to relegate them to second-class status to appease political bosses who are more concerned with protecting what they have than growing a 21st-century American economy.

Rick Manning is the communications director of Americans for Limited Government and can be followed on twitter @rmanning957. Note: Rick does not even know how to use his BlackBerry camera, let alone how to post a twitpic, so following him is much safer than following any member of Congress.