[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 149 (Thursday, November 1, 2001)]
[House]
[Page H7701]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[[Page H7701]]
                         POLITICAL PROFITEERING

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Brown) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. BROWN of Ohio. Mr. Speaker, think back to the late afternoon, 
early evening of September 11 when several gas stations in northeastern 
Ohio and across the Midwest and across the country raised their prices 
of gas to $4, $5, $6 a gallon. Some people would call that war 
profiteering.
  But something else happened in this Chamber in the last 8 weeks, 
something perhaps not much different that some have called political 
profiteering.
  First, this Congress passed a bailout bill giving the airlines $15 
billion, no strings attached, no sacrifices from airline executives, no 
assistance for the 100,000 laid-off workers, no dollars for nor push 
toward any airline safety measures.
  Then last week, all in the name of rebuilding the economy that has 
obviously suffered a blow from September 11, this Chamber voted tax 
cuts for the richest people in the country, and very little for health 
care for laid-off workers, very little tax relief for those who need 
it, most making $20,000, $30,000, $40,000, $50,000 a year.
  Then this political profiteering reached new heights as this week the 
United States Trade Representative Bob Zoellick has begun to link fast 
track legislation, giving the President trade promotion authority, 
linking that legislation to antiterrorism activities, pointing out that 
most of us who oppose fast track are indifferent to terrorism, 
questioning a bit our patriotism, and saying that we really do not 
share American values if we do not support fast track because that is 
the way to combat terrorism around the world.
  Mr. Speaker, fast track, to be sure, does not embody those American 
values that our U.S. Trade Representative has indicated. Simply look at 
the upcoming WTO, World Trade Organization, ministerial in Doha, Qatar. 
The people in Qatar, where trade ministers from all around the world 
and prime ministers and leaders from all around the world are 
converging, the people in Qatar have no freedom of speech, no freedom 
of assembly, no freedom of religion, as pointed out by the gentlewoman 
from Ohio (Ms. Kaptur) in a Dear Colleague she sent around this week; 
no freedom of association, and in Qatar there are no free elections.
  Yet, the World Trade Organization ignored these abuses of personal 
freedom in selecting Qatar as the host for the World Trade Organization 
ministerial.

                              {time}  2115

  Qatar's human rights record is not in line with American values, but 
it is familiar territory for many of corporate America's trading 
partners. Supporters of fast track say interaction with the developing 
world spreads democracy. But watch as we engage developing countries in 
trade and investment, democratic developing countries are losing ground 
to dictatorships, to authoritarian developing countries. Democratic 
nations such as India are losing out to the authoritarian communist 
nations such as China. Democratic nations such as Taiwan are losing out 
to autocratic nations such as Indonesia.
  In 1989, 57 percent of developing-country exports in manufacturing 
came from democracies. Since then the share of developing country 
exports from democracies fell 22 percent. Now 65 percent of developing 
country exports come from authoritarian countries.
  The fact is Western business investors want to go to China, want to 
go to Indonesia, want to go to countries which are dictatorships 
because they have docile workforces, authoritarian governments, and 
they are very predictable for Western business. They do not want to go 
to India. They do not want to go to Taiwan. They do not want to go to 
South Korea; and they do not want to stay in this country many times 
because we have strong environmental laws, because labor unions can 
organize and bargain collectively, because we have free elections.
  Western corporations want to invest in countries that have poor 
environmental standards, that have below-poverty wages, that have no 
worker benefits, that have no opportunities to bargain collectively.
  As American investment moves to those dictatorships where they do not 
have the values that we have, where they do not care about the workers 
and the environment and food safety and all the things that we in this 
institution have fought for, American working families lose out.
  Our trade agreements go to great lengths to protect investors and 
property rights. But these agreements do not include enforceable 
provisions to protect workers, either in the United States or abroad.
  Ambassador Zoellick's call for a blanket trade authority in the name 
of patriotism must be recognized for what it is, pure and simple 
political profiteering. I have watched this country respond to the 
events of September 11. The right response for American values is to 
vote no on trade promotion authority.

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