it shows how far we have come within the usta as a whole. as family, friends, and community leaders, old coaches volunteers, and tennis fans gathered to congratulate and honor katrina, they were reminded of something her mother told her many years ago. her mother said that katrina other little black girls may not want to reach where you are but they will want you to do well. and you are showing them they can do it if they put their mind to it. phillip hirsch also mentions in his article something that billie jean king is supposed to have said to her friend, katrina. she said, katrina, if you can see it, you can be it. her being the first person of color as u.s. tennis association president and a former pro besides, sends a strong message. her family, friends, and former classmates at the whitney young high school, northwestern university, and the east garfield park community where indeed, a proud bunch as they gathered to salute the young lady they had watched grow up in the inner city, become a high school and college tennis star a tennis p

rife the general counsel from the usta, he's here, and i would like to ask him what is the process that ustr goes through before the executive branch allows a trade agreement to enter into force? that's number one. number two, do you require that our trading partners meet their labor obligations before entry into force? i think it's important to clarify where you all are at this point. >> thank you mr. wyden. thank you, mr. chairman, for holding the markup. there actually is a very rigorous process very much along the lines of what the senator was saying a moment ago. there are three stages where ustr and other agencies work very closely with foreign governments tone sure that they implement their obligations under an agreement. first, during the negotiations there are often very detailed conversations with other trading partners about their laws. these are going on now in the tpp context including very much understanding labor laws and understanding the kinds of changes that countries will have to implement. often those countries begin to take these changes during the negotiating phase

now, we've asked for reasonable measures to strengthen the laborer chantpter but usta has ignored those requests. they're not there. i'd also say that the human rights in the hatch-wyden-ryan is not winding. vietnam, malaysia and mexico are already in the tpp demonstrates that the fast track objectives are ignored or irrelevant. in sum, to get this thing right congress should not be constrained by misguided secrecy or speed or unaccountability of fast track. we really urge congress to reject the outdated and undemocratic process known as fast track. and develop instead a new trade negotiating authority it for the 21st century. this is going to affect 40% of the world's gdp. it may well be the last trade agreement that gets negotiated. and the lives of workers are at stake. and the livelihoods of workers are at stake here. it's important that we get it right. i can understand my friend tom advocating for fast track and tpp. his members have benefited by it. benefited greatly. but the average working folks in this country haven't. and we need a different deal. we need to have something th