[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 141 (Monday, October 3, 1994)]
[House]
[Page H]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: October 3, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
      COMMENDING THE WORK OF THE UNITED STATES LABOR ATTACHE CORPS

  Mr. MENENDEZ. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to 
the concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 257) commending the work of the 
United States Labor Attache Corps, and for other purposes, as amended.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                            H. Con. Res. 257

       Whereas the integration of the global economy is 
     accelerating;
       Whereas capital and technology are now easily transferred 
     across national borders and throughout the world, while labor 
     policies remain comparatively bound by national policies and 
     allegiances;
       Whereas the importance of promoting international respect 
     for fundamental worker rights and labor standards is crucial 
     to building broader support for balanced, equitable, and 
     sustainable growth in an expanding global economy;
       Whereas there exists a growing body of international law 
     and international trade agreements, some of which originated 
     in the early 1900s, that firmly establish the free exercise 
     of fundamental worker rights, improved working conditions, 
     and rising living standards as essential requirements of fair 
     competition in a healthy, open, growing global economy;
       Whereas in 1941 President Franklin Roosevelt, as part of 
     the Atlantic Charter, committed the United States to ``the 
     fullest collaboration between all nations in the economic 
     field with the object of securing, for all, improved labor 
     standards, economic advancement, and social security'';
       Whereas the United States Government during World War II 
     recognized the crucial importance of the needs, interests, 
     and aspirations of all working people in general and the role 
     that trade unions in particular would play in the 
     reconstruction of Europe and the future development of newly 
     independent nations;
       Whereas the United States Labor Attache Corps was 
     established within the United States Government in 1943 and 
     individual labor attaches ever since have been posted to 
     United States embassies in scores of foreign countries to 
     study and encourage the concurrent development of 
     professional labor ministries within foreign governments and 
     strong, independent, indigenous trade unions among working 
     people in foreign countries;
       Whereas the United States Labor Attache Corps throughout 
     the cold war played a crucial role in the struggle against 
     Communism and in building support for freedom and democratic 
     values and institutions throughout the world;
       Whereas there is an increasing need for the American people 
     and their policymakers in the post-cold war era to better 
     understand the needs, interests, and aspiration of working 
     people abroad and the concerns that they share in common with 
     working people in the United States;
       Whereas the United States Labor Attache Corps continues to 
     reach beyond the traditional focus of the United States 
     Foreign Service upon senior foreign government officials to 
     attain a broader, in-depth understanding of grassroots 
     concerns and developments among working people in foreign 
     countries and the wider significance those concerns hold for 
     political processes and socioeconomic developments within 
     foreign countries;
       Whereas the United States Labor Attache Corps for 50 years 
     has demonstrated repeatedly the crucial importance of free, 
     independent, and democratic trade unions to the development 
     of free, independent, and democratic societies, thus 
     advancing the profound national interest of the United States 
     in promoting the further development of democratic values, 
     processes, and institutions throughout the world;
       Whereas the United States Labor Attache Corps facilitates 
     many useful international exchanges between organized and 
     unorganized United States and foreign workers and assists 
     with a wide range of the international activities of several 
     United States executive agencies, including the Department of 
     State, the Department of Labor, and the Office of the United 
     States Trade Representative;
       Whereas the national labor policies and standards of 
     foreign countries, and the extent to which the governments of 
     foreign countries are meeting and enforcing their legal 
     obligations in this regard, are increasingly important 
     factors in fair trade, particularly in determining whether 
     consumer markets with broad-based purchasing power will 
     emerge in those countries and whether most foreign workers in 
     those countries will ever be able to buy United States 
     exports, thus making the monitoring and reporting functions 
     of the United States Labor Attache Corps of growing 
     importance; and
       Whereas President Clinton during his official visit to 
     Europe in January 1994 reaffirmed the United States 
     commitment to promoting respect for the fundamental rights of 
     workers everywhere and to pursuing policies that will enable 
     working people in the United States and abroad to share more 
     fully in the benefits of expanding international trade and 
     investment in the global economy: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved by House of Representatives (the Senate 
     concurring), That--
       (1) the Congress commends the United States Labor Attache 
     Corps for the historic role it has played throughout the past 
     50 years in nurturing freedom and assisting in the 
     development of democratic values and processes throughout the 
     world; and
       (2) the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Labor 
     should jointly--
       (A) review the mission and organization of the United 
     States Labor Attache Corps, and determine what reforms are 
     necessary to redesign and assure continued relevance of the 
     work of the Corps in the post-cold war era;
       (B) implement such reforms to the extent possible under 
     existing law, and consistent with existing resources;
       (C) design and implement an interagency recruitment and 
     training program to assure sufficient qualified personnel for 
     the Corps, and to enhance the professional development of 
     existing personnel, consistent with the continuing need for 
     monitoring and reporting on the needs, interests and 
     aspirations of working people in foreign countries;
       (D) develop a plan to assure that a labor counselor, 
     attache or reporting officer is assigned to every United 
     States Embassy abroad by January 1, 1997, and determine what 
     additional resources are necessary to achieve this goal; and
       (E) not later than October 31, 1994 January 1, 1995, submit 
     a report to the Speaker of the House of Representatives and 
     the Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Relations, detailing 
     the outcome of the review conducted and the steps undertaken 
     pursuant to this section, and recommending such changes in 
     law and such additional resources as may be necessary to 
     implement needed further reforms.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from New 
Jersey [Mr. Menendez] will be recognized for 20 minutes, and the 
gentleman from New Jersey [Mr. Smith] will be recognized for 20 
minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from new Jersey [Mr. Menendez].
  Mr. MENENDEZ. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  (Mr. MENENDEZ asked and was given permission to revise and extend his 
remarks.)
  Mr. MENENDEZ. Mr. Speaker, this resolution recognizes the 
contributions made by the Labor Attache Corps over the past fifty 
years. Labor attaches have played an important role around the world in 
bringing attention to the need for international workers' rights. They 
have also played a role in helping to establish strong and independent 
labor unions around the world.
  This resolution recognizes that the role of the Labor Attache Corps 
is changing.
  H. Con. Res. 257 notes that national labor policies and standards of 
foreign governments inevitably have an impact on fair trade and on 
decisions by the United States regarding trade issues. Monitoring and 
reporting on these issues, as well as the protection of workers rights 
around the world, has become an increasingly important part of the work 
of the Corps.
  As a result, the resolution requests that the Secretary of State and 
the Secretary of Labor report to Congress on the future mission and 
organization of the corps and develop a plan to assure that a labor 
counselor, attache, or reporting officer is assigned to every U.S. 
embassy abroad by the year 1997. I want to commend the original sponsor 
of this resolution [Mr. Brown of California] for bringing this to our 
attention. He has been a tireless champion of the rights of workers 
both in this country and abroad for many years and should be commended 
for his efforts. I also want to thank the chairman and ranking member 
of the Committee on Education and Labor for their cooperation with the 
committee on this resolution. I urge my colleagues to support this 
resolution.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I 
may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I recommend the adoption of House Concurrent Resolution 
257, a resolution commending the work of the Labor Attaches Corps. This 
resolution acknowledges the contribution the labor corps has and 
continues to make to the U.S. mission overseas.
  The labor attaches, who are part of the U.S. diplomatic service, 
spearhead efforts abroad to promote respect for the rights of the 
worker and fair labor practices. They are the advocates for important 
democratic values that support political and economic stability abroad, 
and in so doing advance U.S. interests.
  This measure endorses fundamental principles that I believe are, and 
should continue to be, an important part of our diplomatic mission. 
These include understanding the needs of the working people and 
encouraging the development of public institutions or ministries of 
labor to facilitate consideration of labor issues.
  The resolution also encourages the State and Labor Departments to try 
to enhance the labor corps program within the limitation of available 
resources. This is a timely recommendation as our foreign missions 
pursue both a greater emphasis on economic activities and the promotion 
of democratic ideals through the development of institutions and 
organizations around the world.
  Mr. Speaker, I support the adoption of this resolution.
  Mr. BROWN of California. Mr. Speaker, I rise to urge passage of this 
timely and important legislation which affirms strong congressional 
support for the retention and expansion of the U.S. Labor Attache 
Corps.
  The time has come to recognize and applaud the tremendous 
contributions that the U.S. Labor Attache Corps has made since its 
establishment in 1943. Furthermore, I firmly believe that the corps is 
needed now more than ever given the accelerating integration of the 
global economy.
  Why?
  First, these dedicated Foreign Service officers will provide better 
understanding of the domestic political processes in their host foreign 
country.
  Probably the most compelling justification for the Labor Attache 
Corps is that the labor attache can provide the U.S. Embassy with a 
broader, more in-depth understanding of the political processes of the 
house foreign country. Upon the founding of the Labor Attache Corps in 
1943, President Roosevelt, the First Lady, and the U.S. State 
Department specifically recognized that in a complex, interdependent, 
and often dangerous world, U.S. diplomacy needed to go beyond the 
traditional focus of the U.S. Foreign Service on senior governmental 
and foreign ministry officials. It needed to factor in broader 
understanding of the political processes at work, especially in 
friendly democratic societies.
  This logic remains persuasive today. The Labor Attache cannot replace 
U.S. Embassy contacts with senior government officials and traditional 
elites, but the labor attache can supplement those contacts in very 
unique and important ways and, in so doing, enhance the development of 
the U.S. Embassy's collective understanding and analysis of the host 
country. He or she can provide a crucial reality check or second 
opinion for those U.S. Embassy officials who are either unaware or 
would otherwise choose to ignore political currents at the grassroots.
  Second, the U.S. Labor Attache corps is a vital instrument for 
democratic institution-building. The U.S. has a stated national 
interest in promoting democratic institutions around the world. We 
believe we are safer in a world which shares our democratic values 
regarding the rights of all people to physical security, a decent 
standard of living, and equal justice for all. Free, independent, and 
democratic trade unions are clearly an essential part of free, 
independent, and democratic societies.
  The U.S. spent trillions of dollars on the cold war. In the post-cold 
war era we must continue to work to build a more democratic world. The 
U.S. Labor Attache Corps can play a critical role in supporting and 
complementing the efforts of the four AFL-CIO institutes, and others 
who are committed to building international respect for the fundamental 
rights of working people everywhere, but especially in developing 
countries and the successor countries of the former Soviet Union and 
Eastern Europe.
  The stakes are high. The challenges are many. The costs of failure 
are unpredictable. The real question is: Do we have the vision and will 
to give it our best shot?
  Third, the U.S. labor attache is invaluable in responding to the 
needs and interests of the U.S. community who are committed to 
promoting respect for internationally recognized worker rights at home 
and abroad. Just as commercial attaches support and promote the 
interests of the business community and agricultural attaches do the 
same for the farm community, so, too, labor attaches serve the equally 
important interests of all working people. This includes developing 
contacts and exchange activities with the host country's organized and 
unorganized workers, supporting the work of indigenous labor rights 
activists, and cross-checking the findings of non-governmental 
organizations such as the International Labor Rights Education and 
Research Fund, the National Labor Committee, the U.S.-Guatemala Labor 
Education Project, and Human Rights Watch. They can also provide 
critical input and assistance to the international activities of the 
U.S. Departments of State and Labor and to the enforcement activities 
of the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative.
  This important work also includes economic analysis of the host 
foreign country's labor market and its potential impact on American 
workers and political analysis of the disparate elements of the 
indigenous labor movement in the host country and their roles in that 
country's political processes.
  A revitalized U.S. Labor Attache Corps with a newly-revised mandate 
will provide great insights and practical guidance in the post-cold war 
era to government, business, and labor leaders everywhere on how to 
better manage global economic integration to the benefit of working 
people.
  I hope this legislation can be enacted in the remaining days of the 
103d Congress.
  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for 
time, and I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. MENENDEZ. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I 
yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from New Jersey [Mr. Menendez] that the House suspend the 
rules and agree to the concurrent resolution, H. Con. Res. 257, as 
amended.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor 
thereof) the rules were suspended and the concurrent resolution, as 
amended, was agreed to.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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