[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 157 (Wednesday, October 11, 1995)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1919]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




      THE DEPARTMENT OF STATE, AMERICAN JOBS AND FOREIGN LOBBYISTS

                                 ______


                            HON. LINDA SMITH

                             of washington

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, October 11, 1995

  Mrs. SMITH of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to let the 
American people know how Government has really operated in Washington 
for far too long. For the past several months I have been working in a 
bipartisan manner with my colleagues in the House and Senate from 
Washington State, Oregon, and California to address a serious issue. 
American men and women in the longshoreman's trade are being displaced 
by foreign workers because our own State Department's rule 
interpretations strongly favor foreign workers despite Congress' 
efforts to protect American workers in a trade where half of their jobs 
have disappeared in the last decade alone.
  It's not bad enough that our State Department is failing to protect 
American jobs but they have ignored Congress' charge to update their 
annual rule interpretation list for almost 2 years. So let's see, not 
only does our own State Department favor foreign workers but now they 
ignore Congress' instructions as well. But wait Mr. Speaker, it gets 
better!
  Now I have discovered that after fourteen other Members of the House 
and Senate joined me in writing to Secretary Christopher about this 
problem a mid-level bureaucrat in the Transportation and Economic 
Section of the Department of State decided he would call foreign ship 
owners to let them know they too should be concerned about this issue. 
Yes. We have a State Department official calling foreign lobbyists as 
if he had been retained to be their personal agent. Whose State 
Department is this anyway?
  But just when I think it could not get any worse I find out that the 
State Department has agreed to be lobbied by foreign vessel owners and 
operators so that they can continue to discriminate against American 
workers. Their concern? It is that the profit margins for foreign 
vessel owners and operators will be cut.
  So let's review what has been going on in our State Department. 
First, State promulgates rules which discriminate against American 
workers in favor of foreigners. Second, State ignores the law and 
defies Congress' charge to produce annual reciprocity lists for almost 
2 years. Third, a State Department official takes it upon himself to be 
the agent for foreign lobbyists by calling foreign ship owners and 
operators to protect what amounts to be corporate pork for foreigners 
doled out by our State Department. Last, as if notifying foreigners 
that their sweet deal may be in danger is not enough, the United States 
Department of State decides to meet with foreign lobbyists so that 
their concerns can be made a part of the official State Department 
evaluation.
  While some have asked me which American worker needs to fear our 
State Department next the real question Americans must ask themselves 
is ``How much does it cost a foreign interest to have the Department of 
State act as your lobbyist?'' The obvious answer, the livelihoods of 
thousands of American men and women in the longshoreman's trade.

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