[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 66 (Wednesday, May 12, 2004)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E826]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 RECOGNIZING CONTRIBUTIONS OF PEOPLE OF INDIAN ORIGIN TO UNITED STATES 
              AND BENEFITS OF WORKING TOGETHER WITH INDIA

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                         HON. PETER A. DeFAZIO

                               of oregon

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, May 11, 2004

  Mr. DeFAZIO. Mr. Speaker, I strongly support much of what H. Con. 
Res. 352 has to say about the valuable contributions people of Indian 
origin have made to the United States. As the resolution notes, people 
of Indian origin have made contributions in a wide variety of 
disciplines, including science, technology, the arts and public 
service.
  However, I am concerned that H. Con. Res. 352 presents a uniformly 
positive view of U.S. trade relations with India that is unjustified. 
While the resolution mentions the export of U.S. goods to India, it 
fails to acknowledge the rampant export of American jobs to India.
  U.S. trade policies, including our policies toward India, have failed 
American workers. The U.S. has lost millions of high-paying 
manufacturing jobs. Now, service sector jobs are increasingly shifting 
overseas. Around 400,000 service jobs, including 27,000 technology 
jobs, were siphoned off to India, China and other low-wage havens last 
year.
  Morgan Stanley estimates the number of U.S. jobs exported to India 
will double to about 150,000 in the next three years. A University of 
California-Berkeley study found U.S. firms exported 30,000 service 
sector jobs to India while eliminating 226,000 jobs in the U.S.
  It's not hard to see why: computer programming jobs in the U.S. that 
pay $60,000-$80,000 a year go for as little as $8,952 in China, $5,880 
in India, or $5,000 in Russia.
  The U.S. economy will never be on sound footing, and workers will 
never enjoy job security, as long as Congress and the Administration 
perpetuate the discredited dogma of ``free'' trade. The Bush 
Administration argues in its latest Economic Report of the President 
that, ``When a good or service is produced more cheaply abroad, it 
makes more sense to import it than make or provide it domestically.'' I 
disagree with the Bush Administration's argument that ``it makes more 
sense'' to flood the U.S. market with goods and services from low-wage 
havens like India just because it's cheaper.
  I am disappointed that H. Con. Res. 352 does not present a more 
balanced view of U.S. trade relations with India.

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