[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 90 (Tuesday, June 24, 1997)]
[House]
[Page H4311]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   LA MUJER OBRERA: THE WORKING WOMAN

  The SPEAKER pro tempore [Mr. Jones]. Under a previous order of the 
House, the gentleman from Texas [Mr. Reyes] is recognized for 5 
minutes.
  Mr. REYES. Mr. Speaker, first a few remarks in Spanish.
  (The following paragraph was delivered in Spanish.)
  Mr. Speaker, a lot of people have come to this floor in recent weeks 
to talk about NAFTA. And several of those Members have talked about 
what is going on in my district, El Paso, TX. Tonight, I want to talk 
about my district.
  The reason I have opened my remarks in Spanish, Mr. Speaker, is 
because it is important to the story that I want to tell my colleagues 
this evening. The district that I represent, El Paso, TX, has 
experienced more NAFTA-related job losses than any other community in 
the country, more than 5,600 jobs.
  This week, a delegation of dislocated workers from my district, who 
call themselves the La Mujer Obrera, or The Working Woman, are here in 
Washington, DC to tell their story and share it with Members of 
Congress and administration officials. They are here this evening in 
this House to listen to my remarks.
  La Mujer Obrera is a community-based, nonprofit organization 
dedicated to working to improve the social and economic conditions of 
low-income Hispanic workers and their families in the El Paso area. 
Many of these workers had jobs in El Paso in the garment industry. And 
as most of my colleagues know, a lot of those jobs have now gone to 
Mexico, leaving these workers and others like them without jobs and 
without the skills needed to get new ones.
  When Congress passed NAFTA, it provided training assistance for 
workers dislocated by NAFTA. The workers of the La Mujer Obrera in El 
Paso were eligible for training assistance. What they got instead was 
remedial English lessons. It is important to understand that many of 
the people I am talking about have been working and paying taxes for 20 
and 30 years.
  While you and I probably agree that the ability to speak English will 
help, it will not by itself secure jobs for these workers. Since I 
became a Member of Congress 6 months ago, I have been working with La 
Mujer Obrera and the Texas Workforce Commission to provide the kind of 
assistance that will make a difference.
  As a result, a pilot project was launched in El Paso that we hope 
should effectively address the needs of dislocated workers. This pilot 
project will provide bilingual job training and prepare dislocated 
workers for new jobs. Approximately 1,200 dislocated workers will 
benefit from this project. Some Members of this body will listen to the 
story of La Mujer Obrera and conclude that NAFTA is bad. Others will 
point to the fact that the new jobs have been created by NAFTA and 
conclude that NAFTA is good.
  I think the truth lies somewhere in between. NAFTA was and is a bold 
initiative. But as with all great experiments, we should not be 
surprised when we hit some problem spots. We must be willing to make 
corrections along the way. This is especially true when it affects 
people like Armida Arriaga, a 56-year-old woman in El Paso who worked 
in the garment industry for 18 years before losing her job. Ms. Ariaga 
has used the NAFTA benefits, but she would rather have a job.
  In a recent report, the Forum for International Policy, whose members 
include Brent Scowcroft, Carla Hills, Colin Powell and Robert Strauss, 
said it best:
  ``Increased international trade may well lead to U.S. job losses for 
certain companies in certain sectors. The response should not be to 
impede greater trade, but rather to develop effective programs to 
provide American workers with training to acquire new skills and 
develop new business. Of course, meeting this challenge cannot be 
underestimated. Some workers may find developing new skills difficult, 
if not impossible. But dealing creatively with job transitions is 
preferable, for the people concerned and society as a whole, to denying 
ourselves increased trade opportunities.''
  I think it is appropriate that on this date in 1647 Margaret Brent 
proclaimed herself as America's first feminist by demanding a voice and 
vote for herself in the Maryland Colonial Assembly. Brent came to 
America in 1638 and was the first woman to own property in Maryland.
  Mr. Speaker, the workers of the La Mujer Obrera are here today to 
demand a voice in the decisions that we make that affect their lives. 
As this body ponders serious policy questions, I encourage all of my 
colleagues to listen carefully to the voices of these people, the 
dislocated workers, and remember that what we are here to do is the 
people's business. They expect and deserve this.

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