[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 42 (Thursday, April 6, 2000)]
[House]
[Pages H1944-H1945]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   ON REMARKS BY THE MINORITY LEADER

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Florida (Mr. Foley) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. FOLEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in response to an article that 
appeared in the Roll Call, the newspaper of Capitol Hill, Thursday, 
April 6, 2000. Let me read from the article written by Susan Crabtree. 
It is shocking and it is startling:
  ``With last year's violent protests against the World Trade 
Organization in Seattle still fresh in the public's mind, leaders are 
organizing for Act 2,

[[Page H1945]]

a massive March on Washington set for Tuesday, designed to pressure 
Congress into rejecting a permanent normalized trade deal for China.''
  Here is the quote that is startling, made by the minority whip, the 
gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Bonior): ``Seattle was a great success. We 
hope we will see a repeat performance.''
  Let me read to the Members the performance, for those who may have 
been napping during Seattle's excitement: ``Unrest even at the top 
during riots. Madeleine Albright was trapped and angry. Janet Reno was 
calling.'' ``The State Patrol Leaders Saw Trouble Brewing at 
Starbuck's. The Secret Service threatened to cancel the President's 
visit.''
  The headlines from the Seattle Times, the success referred to by the 
gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Bonior), the minority whip: ``Police Haul 
Hundreds to Jail. National Guard on Patrol. One Thousand Protestors 
Enter Restricted zones.''
  There were fires, there was looting, there was physical harm, there 
was destruction of property, interruption of business. ``Seattle bill 
hits $9 million. Seattle taxpayers will be hit hard in the wallet for 
hosting the World Trade Organization.''
  From CNN, ``Seattle authorities have placed an around-the-clock 
curfew on the area immediately surrounding the world trade conference.
  ``President Clinton arrives in a city that has been marred by broken 
glass, tear gas, and rubber bullets.''
  ``The PBC found out how security forces are beefing up in 
anticipation of President Clinton's visit: Police douse crowds with 
pepper spray.''
  Let me re-read for the Members the quote by the minority whip: 
``Seattle was a great success. We hope we will see a repeat 
performance.''
  I hope, I pray, that I am misreading the newspaper. I hope and pray 
that the performance that we are anticipating in the seat of our 
government, the Nation's capital, is not one designed to bring about 
disgraceful headlines about riot police, pepper spray, and destruction 
of personal property. I thought anarchy like that only existed in Third 
World nations, but if people disagree with a viewpoint on trade, if 
people disagree on human rights in China, their response is to riot in 
the streets and destroy property to get their viewpoint heard.
  I think it is regrettable when the minority whip would say in glowing 
terms that anything connected with Seattle was a success.
  I have had to endure for the past couple of months a conversation 
about our presidential candidate attending a university, and a peaceful 
conversation with students, and somehow he is linked now to a quote 
made by the founder of the university.

                              {time}  1630

  Now we are going to hear for weeks and weeks about a peaceful meeting 
with students about a democracy and yet we are hearing again from the 
leader of the other side, or at least the minority whip, that somehow 
success is articulated by a total disaster.
  Seattle has yet to recover from the public embarrassment of that 
meeting, and I would hope that the leadership will at least look at 
their statements and amend the record and suggest that we can have a 
disagreement on trade, and I hope we will have a debate on it. The 
President of the United States has called for a debate. The President 
has called for a conversation on trade. The President, I think, has 
been very willing to discuss some of the problems regarding workers' 
rights and violation of child labor and things that I think we in 
Congress can accomplish and can provide as we discuss normalized trade 
relationships with China, but I also pray that some level-headed 
conversation occurs to those who would come to our Nation's capital and 
understand we are a people of law, we are a people of respect for 
democracy and that violence will not and should not and cannot be 
tolerated.
  So let us make certain that in this Nation that we love we do not 
repeat Seattle; that nobody refers to Seattle as a success; that if we 
have a grievance with the WTO that we not destroy our cities in the 
process and maim and injure people.
  Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, will the gentleman yield?
  Mr. FOLEY. I yield to the gentlewoman from the District of Columbia.
  Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, I would certainly like to reinforce what the 
gentleman is saying about protesters coming here with respect to the 
WTO. I would hope that in the city of Washington we do not have a 
repeat of what happened in the State of Washington. The gentleman is 
perfectly right, the gentleman is entirely right, we can disagree 
without tearing up our city, especially the Nation's capitol.
  Mr. FOLEY. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from the District of 
Columbia (Ms. Norton) for joining me in that admonition to those who 
would come here to be peaceful, respect the rule of law and respect 
personal property.

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