[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 102 (Thursday, July 17, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7703-S7704]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        TREASURY AND GENERAL GOVERNMENT APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 1998

  The Senate continued with the consideration of the bill.


                           Amendment No. 942

     (Purpose: To provide for a national media campaign focused on 
                      preventing youth drug abuse)

  Mr. CAMPBELL. Mr. President, I send an amendment to the desk on 
behalf of Senator Hatch and ask for its immediate consideration.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the amendment.
  The assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

       The Senator from Colorado [Mr. Campbell], for Mr. Hatch, 
     proposes an amendment numbered 942.

  Mr. CAMPBELL. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the reading 
of the amendment be dispensed with.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The amendment is as follows:

       At page 47, line 19, strike all after ``Appropriations'' to 
     page 48, line 1 at ``Provided''.
       In lieu thereof, insert ``and Judiciary of the House of 
     Representatives and the Senate that includes (1) a 
     certification, and guidelines to ensure that funds will 
     supplement and not supplant current anti-drug community based 
     coalitions; (2) a certification, and guidelines to ensure 
     that none of the funds will be used for partisan political 
     purposes; (3) a certification, and guidelines to ensure that 
     no media campaigns to be funded pursuant to this campaign 
     shall feature any elected officials, persons seeking elected 
     office, cabinet-level officials, or other Federal officials 
     employed pursuant to Schedule C of 5

[[Page S7704]]

     Code Federal Regulations, Section 213, absent notice to each 
     of the Chairmen and Ranking Members of the House and Senate 
     Committees on Appropriations and Judiciary; (4) a detailed 
     implementation plan to be submitted to the Chairman of the 
     Committees on Appropriations and Judiciary for securing 
     private sector contributions including but not limited to in 
     kind contributions; (5) a quantifiable system to measure 
     outcome of success of the national media campaign, including 
     but not limited to total funds expended, to what, where, or 
     whom such funds were expended, and the effect which such 
     media campaign has had in reducing youth drug abuse.''

  Mr. CAMPBELL. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that this 
amendment be set aside.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. CAMPBELL. Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mrs. HUTCHISON. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.


                           Amendment No. 943

 (Purpose: To establish parity among the countries that are parties to 
 the North American Free Trade Agreement with respect to the personal 
   allowance for duty-free merchandise purchased abroad by returning 
                               residents)

  Mrs. HUTCHISON. Mr. President, I send an amendment to the desk and 
ask for its immediate consideration.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report.
  The assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

       The Senator from Texas [Mrs. Hutchison] proposes an 
     amendment numbered 943.

  Mrs. HUTCHISON. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the 
reading of the amendment be dispensed with.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The amendment is as follows:
       At the appropriate place, insert the following new section:

     SEC.   . PERSONAL ALLOWANCE PARITY AMONG NAFTA PARTIES.

       (a) In General.--The United States Trade Representative and 
     the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the 
     Secretary of Commerce, shall initiate discussions with 
     officials of the Governments of Mexico and Canada to achieve 
     parity in the duty-free personal allowance structure of the 
     United States, Mexico, and Canada.
       (b) Report.--The United States Trade Representative and the 
     Secretary of the Treasury shall report to Congress within 90 
     days after the date of enactment of this Act on the progress 
     that is being made to correct any disparity between the 
     United States, Mexico, and Canada with respect to duty-free 
     personal allowances.
       (c) Recommendations.--If parity with respect to duty-free 
     personal allowances between the United States, Mexico, and 
     Canada is not achieved within 180 days after the date of 
     enactment of this Act, the United States Trade Representative 
     and the Secretary of the Treasury shall submit 
     recommendations to Congress for appropriate legislation.

  Mrs. HUTCHISON. Mr. President, we have probably the best relations 
with Mexico than we have had in this country in a long, long time. I 
think NAFTA has added to the good will and the trade between our 
nations. But there is one part of our trade relationship that is not at 
parity and is not in the spirit of NAFTA, and that is the exemptions 
for personal goods or for buying when you are on the border between 
Mexico and the United States.
  As a matter of fact, there is not parity in the exemption, and I 
think that is against the spirit of NAFTA. I am hoping that we will be 
able to change that, and that is what my amendment will attempt to do.
  The amendment is very simple. It directs the U.S. Trade 
Representative and the Secretary of the Treasury to begin discussions 
with their counterparts in Mexico to achieve parity in the duty-free 
allowance structure of all of our NAFTA countries, and the concern is 
between Mexico and the United States.
  These officials will report to Congress within 90 days on the changes 
they are making to correct these disparities. If the situation remains 
unchanged, in 6 months these officials will propose appropriate 
legislation to bring the United States' duty-free allowance to conform 
to the allowance levels established by Mexico and Canada.
  Let me give an example of what is wrong and why this disparity 
exists. The United States provides that each U.S. resident returning 
from Mexico has a personal exemption from duty on merchandise valued at 
up to $400 once every 30 days. Mexico, however, has a two-tier duty-
free allowance. If you are a resident in a 25-kilometer strip along 
Mexico's northern border, and you return from the United States at a 
land border crossing, you may only return with $50 in duty-free 
merchandise.
  This has become known as the $50 rule. It is crippling business in 
our border retailers on the U.S. side of the border in Texas, 
California, New Mexico and Arizona, because if you are a Mexican 
resident bringing in more than $50, you must pay a 22.8 percent duty 
rate. Now, this makes it prohibitively expensive for a Mexican resident 
to purchase a washing machine, a refrigerator, any kind of electronics 
or any item costing more than $50, so it is inequitable.
  We believe in the spirit of NAFTA, in parity, in equity, any rule you 
want to apply, that it should just be the same. We have been talking 
about this for 3\1/2\ years, since I came to the Senate. The border 
retailers in Texas told me that the $50 rule was being enforced by the 
Mexican Government. I have talked to the officials of the Mexican 
Government about this. I truly believe that President Zedillo intended 
to do something about it. He said he was going to right after he was 
elected. But we all know that the peso crisis occurred, and surely he 
had so many things on his plate that this was not on the front burner. 
I understood that.
  Now the Mexican economic situation is stabilized, and certainly, I 
think, it is on its way to full recovery, and I think this matter of 
equity and parity must be addressed. That is why my amendment would 
just ask the U.S. Trade Representative and the Secretary of the 
Treasury to begin these discussions, to report back, and if they are 
not able to make progress, then tell us what legislation should be 
passed to make this happen.
  That is the amendment. I hope both sides will agree this is in 
everyone's best interests, and I hope we will be able to vote on this 
or have it accepted early next week and that we can begin the process 
of making sure that the spirit, as well as the letter, of NAFTA is 
applied to both sides of our relationship with the country of Mexico.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to lay the amendment aside, 
and we will take it up at the appropriate time.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. STEVENS. I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. STEVENS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. STEVENS. Mr. President, there are several amendments now pending 
at the desk that will be subject to a vote on Monday. I ask unanimous 
consent that no second-degree amendments be in order. I understand this 
has been cleared on both sides.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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