[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 65 (Tuesday, May 17, 2005)]
[House]
[Page H3406]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        NAFTA LESSONS FOR CAFTA

  (Ms. WOOLSEY asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. WOOLSEY. Mr. Speaker, much like its elder cousin NAFTA, CAFTA has 
promised to raise the standard of living in its poorest member 
countries. But thanks to NAFTA, we already know how this story ends.
  A typical Central American earns only a small fraction of an average 
American worker's wage. More than 40 percent of workers in the region 
labor for less than $2 a day, placing them below the global poverty 
level.
  Mexico now ranks as one of the world's 10 largest economies. Its 
overall wealth has increased since passing NAFTA, and, unfortunately, 
so has its poverty. It is said, ``a rising tide lifts all boats.'' This 
is not the case for the poor in Mexico and will not be the case for the 
impoverished people in the Western hemisphere's poorest nations.
  For this and other reasons, I encourage my colleagues to join me in 
opposing CAFTA.

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