[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 47 (Tuesday, April 19, 2005)]
[House]
[Page H2128]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                                 CAFTA

  (Mr. BROWN of Ohio asked and was given permission to address the 
House for 1 minute.)
  Mr. BROWN of Ohio. Mr. Speaker, CAFTA, the Central American Free 
Trade Agreement coming in front of Congress, fact number one: The 
economic output of the six Central American countries entering into 
this agreement with the United States is equal to the economic output 
of Columbus, Ohio; Orlando, Florida; or the entire State of Kansas.
  What this trade agreement, CAFTA, is all about: It is not about 
selling American goods into six small, poor countries in Central 
America. It is about outsourcing jobs. It is about weakening our 
economy. It is about losing our manufacturing base. It is about hiring 
low-income workers in Guatemala and Honduras and Nicaragua and Costa 
Rica.
  This agreement hurts American workers. It depresses American wages. 
It does nothing to lift up standards of living in Central America.
  CAFTA is a dysfunctional cousin of the North American Free Trade 
Agreement. It will continue to wreak havoc on the economy of Central 
America and Latin America and do nothing for American manufacturing.

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