[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 97 (Thursday, June 27, 1996)]
[House]
[Page H6976]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




         MUZZLING DEBATE ON UNITED STATES-CHINA TRADE RELATIONS

  (Ms. KAPTUR asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, what a travesty. Last Tuesday in the dead of 
night, with Members of this House given no voice and no notice, the 
House Rules Committee, at the behest of Speaker Gingrich, ramrodded a 
rule to restrict debate on the critical issue of United States-China 
trade relations. Then last night, after 1 a.m., the restrictive rule 
was voice-voted by a deal struck by the proponents to muzzle debate 
today. Members were not recorded on that key rule vote. Now today the 
brief debate on whether Congress will actually grant Most Favored 
Nation trade status to China for the first time in a straight up or 
down vote in this Chamber will occur and the debate itself while most 
Members are at Bill Emerson's funeral today. What an outrage.
  Commerce with a fascist state will not yield liberty. Our 250-
million-person market cannot sustain these gaping trade deficits 
growing every year with a nation of 1 billion 250 million people. Just 
the $40 billion trade deficit this year means another 800,000 lost jobs 
in America.

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