[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 104 (Tuesday, July 22, 1997)]
[House]
[Page H5501]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             IN OPPOSITION TO TRADE BARRIERS BETWEEN STATES

  (Mr. CAPPS asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. CAPPS. Mr. Speaker, this past weekend the Los Angeles Times ran 
an insightful article about the cooperative spirit of the California 
delegation. In the spirit of this bipartisanship, I along with my 
Republican colleague, the gentleman from California, Mr. Frank Riggs, 
and the California delegation have urged the Governor of Florida to 
repeal an egregious law which unfairly targets small wineries.
  Under this law, if a Florida resident orders a bottle of wine from 
another State, the vintner, the delivery person, and the unsuspecting 
consumer are all guilty of felonies, punishable by up to 5 years in 
prison and a $5,000 fine.
  Mr. Speaker, none of us wants trade wars. Florida's own attorney 
general is against this questionable legislation. Our small wineries 
are critical to the economy of my district and to the entire State of 
California. They should not be subject to unfair and extreme trade 
barriers within this great Nation. Mr. Speaker, we must support the 
rights of small businesses and interstate commerce.

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