[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 72 (Thursday, May 26, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1131-E1132]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 DISCUSSING THE PERILS OF CAFTA WITH LEGISLATORS FROM CENTRAL AMERICAN 
                               COUNTRIES

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. DENNIS J. KUCINICH

                                of ohio

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 26, 2005

  Mr. KUCINICH. Mr. Speaker, today I welcomed legislators from Central 
American countries to discuss the perils of CAFTA. I submit my opening 
remarks for the Record.

       Thank you all for coming to this important briefing on how 
     the Dominican-Republic Central American Free Trade Agreement 
     was passed in El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala. I would 
     like to thank Congressman Becerra for hosting this briefing 
     with me, and of course, the Central American legislators for 
     traveling up here to share their experiences with us.
       There are innumerable reasons to oppose CAFTA, in the 
     United States and in Central America. Governments will have 
     little to no control over the investments of foreign 
     companies, and foreign investors will not have to comply with 
     International Labor Organization standards when they invest 
     in Central American business ventures. Workers' rights will 
     be undermined, especially for women workers, farmers and 
     maquilla workers. The current labor rights abuses prevalent 
     in

[[Page E1132]]

     some Central American countries will run rampant under 
     CAFTA's weak labor provisions. Countries will enjoy greater 
     tariff benefits for goods made by workers whose rights have 
     been denied.
       Family farms in Central America will fall victim to CAFTA, 
     which will threaten locally grown produce and undermine food 
     security for Central Americans. Basic public goods and 
     services, such as education, health care and water will 
     become privatized, as governments will lose the flexibility 
     to subsidize these services. Expensive brand-name drugs will 
     have expanded patents, and inexpensive generic medicines will 
     have greater restrictions. Poor people will not have access 
     to life-saving pharmaceuticals.
       Yet these concerns could not be fully considered or debated 
     by lawmakers in Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador. CAFTA 
     was brought up suddenly, in the wee hours of the morning, 
     with no public notice, and many lawmakers did not get the 
     chance to investigate what they were voting on. Is this how 
     far-reaching legal reform bills should be considered? Of 
     course not. And the real story of how CAFTA was pushed 
     through the legislatures of Central American countries will 
     undercut any legitimacy its ratification may have.
       Please join me in welcoming the lawmakers who opposed CAFTA 
     in their respective legislatre assemblies when it was 
     considered, and who have traveled here to continue to oppose 
     CAFTA. Let me introduce: Diputada Doris Gutierrez, from 
     Honduras; Diputado Victor Manuel Sales, from Guatemala; 
     Diputado Hugo Martinez, from El Salvado; and Diputado 
     Salvador Arias, from El Salvador.

                          ____________________