Governors express support for trade deal

DES MOINES - While they agreed no solution will fit every state, many of the governors who are in Iowa for this weekend's summer meeting of the National Governors Association said they can learn from successful programs in other states.

Utah's governor spoke about a program to reduce poverty; Virginia's governor discussed steps taken there to prevent cyber attacks; Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad, the event's host, talked about Iowa's program that helps provide housing and employment for retiring veterans.

The governors then spend the day discussing topical issues like opioid overdoses and foreign trade.

The annual event continues Saturday with more sessions and more topics.

A total of 16 governors attended Saturday's sessions. There was a near-even bipartisan mixture, with nine Republicans and seven Democrats.

GOVERNORS SUPPORT TPP

A bipartisan group of governors expressed strong support for the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a proposed international trade deal that has become a political issue in the U.S.

The governors in support of the trade deal --- including Branstad, Iowa's Republican governor --- said it will benefit state's economies.

'It's not perfect and I accept some constructive criticism that maybe we can do better, but let's continue to break down these (trade) barriers,” Branstad said, adding that half of Iowa's economy is business exports.

Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe, a Democrat, said he approves of the trade deal because it will create American jobs. He said opponents of the trade deal are putting their 'heads in the sand like an ostrich.”

'I look at this simply as a job creator,” McAuliffe said.

Both of the major party presidential nominees, Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican Donald Trump, said they opposed the trade deal.

Utah Gov. Gary Herbert, a Republican, said he believes the debate has been polluted by politics.

'I don't understand why we can't sit down and come together with a compromise and move forward,” Herbert said. 'It's a global marketplace and we need to understand that and find ways to interact with each other in the world. …

'I call upon those fighting this on both sides of the aisle: let's bring everybody together and finally get this done.”

TERRORISM AND THE STATES

In the wake of multiple recent terrorist attacks in the U.S. and across the globe, governors said keeping their states' people safe is their primary responsibility.

'One thing I can say, I think we all understand is that public safety is really not a partisan issue,” Herbert said. 'The proper role of government is to keep us safe.”

Branstad noted governors Mark Dayton of Minnesota and Brian Sandoval of Nevada planned to attend this weekend's governors meetings, but instead remained in their home states to attend to incidents.

Although neither incident involved terrorism --- Dayton is attending to unrest in the wake of the death of a black man who was shot by a white police officer during a traffic stop, and Sandoval on Friday toured the site of a bombing that killed one person, apparently the bomber --- Branstad said those examples show a governor's role in times of crisis.

'My advice to a governor is whenever you have an incident, be it a natural disaster or something else that happens, it's important for the governor to be there to reassure the people and help local authorities and others in law enforcement protecting the public's safety,” Branstad said.