[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 34 (Thursday, March 21, 2002)]
[Senate]
[Page S2220]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        TIMING OF THE TRADE BILL

  Mr. BAUCUS. Mr. President, at the end of the last session of Congress 
the Finance Committee reported three critical pieces of international 
trade legislation to the Senate calendar: An expansion of the Trade 
Adjustment Assistance Act, an extension of fast track trade negotiating 
authority, and an expansion of the Andean Trade Benefits program.
  Each of these bills is time-sensitive and I believe that the Senate 
should take action on them as soon as possible. The Trade Adjustment 
Assistance Act, or TAA, first established in 1962, is the program that 
addresses the needs of workers and firms that are adversely impacted by 
trade.
  The Senate Finance Committee bill expands TAA coverage to new groups 
of workers, including farmers and secondary workers; provides training 
and healthcare benefits to recipients; and experiments with a new 
concept of wage insurance, which aims to move the unemployed back into 
the labor force as quickly as possible.
  Unfortunately, TAA was allowed to expire at the end of the last 
Congress. We need to not only extend TAA, but complete the expansion as 
soon as it is practical.
  Although States have cooperated with the efforts of the Department of 
Labor to keep the program in operation, this stopgap cannot continue 
indefinitely. Congress must ensure that this critical safety net for 
working Americans is in place.
  The extension of fast-track trade negotiating authority--sometimes 
called trade promotion authority--is also pending on the Senate 
calendar.
  This measure is controversial, but Senator Grassley and I were able 
to arrive at a bipartisan bill to extend fast track. And the bill 
passed the Finance Committee 18-3 with the support of both the majority 
leader and the minority leader.
  This extension may not be as urgent as the extension of TAA, but many 
important international trade negotiations both bilaterally and 
multilaterally are pending or underway. This bill allows Congress to 
direct these negotiations and allows the President to credibly 
negotiate with our trading partners. It is time for Congress to extend 
fast track.
  The Senate Finance Committee also reported an extension of the Andean 
Trade Promotion Act or ATPA. This measure has been actively supported 
by many Senators, including Senator Bob Graham and the distinguished 
majority leader.
  The legislation aims to shore up support among U.S. allies in the 
critical Andean region and provide an alternative to the illegal drug 
trade to citizens in the region.
  In addition, another critical international trade program, the 
Generalized System of Preferences, which provides important benefits to 
many developing countries, also expired at the end of the last 
Congress. This program should also be extended for some reasonable 
period of time, in my opinion, several years.
  I have discussed with the majority leader and many of my colleagues 
combining all of these bills into a single vehicle, winning Senate 
passage for the legislation, and quickly moving to gain support for the 
legislation in the other body in the hopes that these measures might be 
signed into law as soon as possible.
  The combined trade legislation has some detractors, but each 
component of the proposed trade legislation has bipartisan support. 
Each piece serves an important public policy purpose. And each piece is 
timely, if not overdue.
  I know that the Senate calendar is crowded, but I would like to urge 
the majority leader and the minority leader to work with Senator 
Grassley and myself to find time to take this legislation up shortly 
after the Senate returns from the coming recess.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Arizona.
  Mr. McCAIN. I ask unanimous consent to address the Senate as in 
morning business.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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