[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 161 (Monday, December 15, 1997)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2414]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                        OPPOSITION TO H.R. 2621

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. BENNIE G. THOMPSON

                             of mississippi

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, November 13, 1997

  Mr. THOMPSON. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in opposition to H.R. 2621, 
the Reciprocal Trade Agreement Authorities Act--the so-called fast 
track authority legislation.
  The take it or leave it approach fast track authority brought to the 
NAFTA and GATT agreements a few years ago led to the acceptance of 
trade negotiations that have damaged my home State of Mississippi and 
this Nation's economy, labor force, and environment. This is not an 
issue of free trade; I support free trade as most Members of both sides 
of the aisle and the President do. My opposition to fast track 
authority and that of many of my colleagues is part of an effort to 
permit Congress to have real input into the negotiation of trade 
agreements and the ability to properly inform the public of their 
possible effects.
  NAFTA and other trade agreements have severely hampered Mississippi 
and the Nation's opportunities for faster rates of economic 
development. Although United States exports have increased by 26 
percent to Mexico and Canada since NAFTA's enactment in 1993, imports 
from those regions have increased by 47 percent according to Bureau of 
Labor Statistics and Census Bureau data. As a result, the Nation has 
lost a net total of 394,835 jobs since 1993. In Mississippi alone, 
major employers have moved across borders, forcing 6,671 people to face 
unemployment and difficult transitions to lower paying jobs. Moreover, 
as employers use the threat of moving their businesses overseas, 
employees are forced to take cuts in their paychecks and health 
benefits that have led to a 4-percent decline in nationwide median 
wages since 1993.
  Fast track authority would be a blank check for extending NAFTA and 
other international trade agreements that tend to neglect the delicate 
economy of small States, like Mississippi, that heavily depend on low-
wage labor and manufacturing. In addition, these agreements have 
encouraged other countries to develop unsafe products and to ignore 
environmental standards. It is no mystery why the National Consumers 
League as well as the Nation's premier environmental organizations--the 
Sierra Club, the Audubon Society, the National Wildlife Federation, the 
World Wildlife Fund, and others--oppose fast track authority.
  Granting fast track authority will send the wrong message to other 
nations about child labor, the environment, safety standards, and the 
United States willingness to support its workers. Mr. Speaker, I object 
to providing new fast track authority on behalf of the 6,671 
Mississippians who lost their jobs since fast track was used to pass 
NAFTA in 1993, and I object to it in the name of my State and this 
Nation's future.

                          ____________________