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Anti-CAFTA Forces Hold Capitol Hill Press Conference
I had the pleasure of participating in a major anti-CAFTA press conference on Capitol Hill today. Hosted by Congressman Sherrod Brown of Ohio and Senator Byron Dorgan of North Dakota, the conference featured more than 20 elected officials and representatives of the many business, labor, and NGO groups that oppose CAFTA.
On Thursday I will be attending the House Ways & Means Committee Hearing on CAFTA, and then heading back home to the West Coast.
Here's the text of the official press release from Representative Brown's office:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
APRIL 20, 2005
BROAD BIPARTISAN GROUP UNITES AGAINST CAFTA
Group Calls CAFTA Vote "Deadline"a Last-Ditch Attempt to Pass Agreement
WASHINGTON -
Nearly two dozen Senate and House members from both sides of the aisle united today along with 23 business and labor groups at a Capitol Hill press conference speaking out against CAFTA. Led by Congressman Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and Senator Byron Dorgan (D-ND), the news conference precedes a hearing on CAFTA in the House Ways and Means Committee Thursday.
House Majority Leader Tom DeLay and House Ways and Means Chairman Bill Thomas recently promised a "deadline" for a House vote on CAFTA by Memorial Day.
Brown said CAFTA is another chapter in a book of failed trade policies.
He also said the Memorial Day deadline is an attempt to gloss over divisions by the president's Congressional allies in the fight over CAFTA.
"When I ran for Congress in 1992 the U.S. trade deficit was $38 billion," he said. "In 2004 our trade deficit ballooned to $618 billion. CAFTA will continue this dangerous trend."
All six trade agreements under President George W. Bush were passed by Congress within 70 days of the president's signature. President Bush signed CAFTA on May 28, 2004.
"If CAFTA weren't so wrong-headed, and opposition to it weren't so deep, Congress would have voted on the bill shortly after the president signed it - and not have let it languish for nearly a year."
Brown noted the breadth of bipartisan opposition to CAFTA highlights the many failing factors in the trade agreement.
"CAFTA offends everyone from pro-business organizations to labor groups," he said. "NAFTA promised job growth in the U.S. and a thriving middle class in Mexico. Ten years later, our nation has lost more than 1 million jobs and Mexican wages have remained stagnant. Not one bit of evidence has been provided to show that CAFTA will do any differently."
Author of a book on trade policy, Brown said, "As the world's largest economy the U.S. has a unique opportunity to improve worker conditions abroad while promoting strong business growth at home."
"Throughout the developing world, workers do not share in the wealth they create," he said. "Trade pacts like NAFTA and CAFTA enable companies to exploit cheap labor in other countries, then import their products back to the U.S. under favorable terms. As a result, America is bleeding manufacturing jobs and running unprecedented trade deficits. When the world's poorest people can buy American products rather than just make them, then we will know our trade policies are finally working."
Attendance List
Senator Byron Dorgan (D-ND)
Senator Larry Craig (R-ID)
Senator Mark Dayton (D-MN)
Rep. Sherrod Brown (D-OH)
Rep. Virgil Goode (R-VA)
Rep. Charlie Norwood (R-GA) (sent statment)
Rep. Walter B. Jones (R-NC)
Rep. Dennis Rehberg (R-MT) (sent statement)
Rep. Hilda Solis (D-CA)
Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA)
Rep. Charles Melancon (D-LA)
Rep. Ted Strickland (D-OH)
Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-OH)
Rep. Tim Ryan (D-OH)
Rep. Mike Michaud (D-ME)
Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL)
Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-AZ)
Rep. Joe Crowley (D-NY)
Rep. Dale Kildee (D-MI)
Rep. Bart Stupak (D-MI)
Rep. Gene Greene (D-TX)
Groups
R-CALF (United Stockgrowers of America)
Citizens Trade Campaign
National Farmers Union
National Family Farm Coalition
U.S. Business and Industry Council
American Manufacturing Trade Action Coalition
Interfaith Working Group
Lutheran World Relief
Church World Service
AFL-CIO
AmericansforFairTrade.org
Sierra Club
Oxfam America
LULAC (League of United Latin American Citizens)
Washington Office on Latin America
United Steelworkers
Public Citizen's Global Trade Watch
UNITEHERE
Global Aids Alliance
Friends of the Earth
Share Foundation
Alliance for Responsible Trade
International Association of Machinists
Greg Spotts -- director/producer of the documentary film "American Jobs."
Posted on April 20, 2005 in CAFTA | Permalink
