{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://neal.house.gov/2023/10/31/news-documentsingle-aspx-documentid-3815/", "Neal Statement on Mauritania\u2019s Reinstatement to AGOA", "2023-10-31", "2023", "2023-10", "Democrat", "House", "MA", "Richard E. Neal", "N000015", "neal.house.gov", "neal", "https://neal.house.gov/category/press-releases/", "scraper", "Springfield, MA\n\nWays and Means Committee Ranking Member Richard E. Neal (D-MA) released the following statement after the Biden Administration announced it would be reinstating Mauritania to the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) trade preference program:\n\n\u201cReinstating Mauritania into AGOA is premature and flies in the face of a worker-centric trade agenda. As the centerpiece of U.S. trade relations with sub-Saharan Africa, AGOA has not only enhanced trade, investment, and job creation throughout the continent, but also strengthened democratic institutions and workers\u2019 rights. For years, I have expressed my deep concerns over Mauritania\u2019s egregious practices of hereditary slavery and supported the former President\u2019s decision to revoke its AGOA eligibility in 2018. With this week\u2019s forum on the horizon, we must uphold the sanctity of AGOA, and so long as the inhumanity in Mauritania continues, I will oppose their reinstatement.\u201d\n\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-08T00:49:26Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://neal.house.gov/2023/10/31/news-documentsingle-aspx-documentid-3815/"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.3246180023998022, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}