[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 135 (Friday, December 8, 2006)]
[Senate]
[Pages S11644-S11645]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                             TAX EXTENDERS

  Mr. DeWINE. Mr. President, I will be very brief. I have spoken a lot 
in the last week, but I want to talk very briefly about the bill that 
will be before the Senate in a few minutes, and speak about one 
particular provision, the antitrade bill.
  I thank Bill Thomas, I thank Bill Frist, Senator Grassley, Senator 
Baucus, Charlie Rangel, Kendrick Meeks. I thank the Chair, I thank 
Senator Durbin, the leadership in the House and the Senate of both 
parties, for including this provision in the bill.
  Bill Thomas told me a moment ago, as I congratulated him and thanked 
him, that this should have passed 4 years ago. I think it should have. 
We worked on it for a long time.
  The good news is that it will make a difference. It will create many 
jobs in Haiti, a country that has about 70-percent unemployment, gross 
underemployment, a country that Fran and I visited again last week, 
where we saw Paul Farmer's hospital in the central part of Haiti, with 
children who were grossly malnourished, children who do not have enough 
to eat, children who would have died but for getting into Paul's 
hospital, children whose hair was turning orange because of 
malnutrition. When we went to Sisters of Charity in Port-au-Prince, we 
saw twins who had been brought in by their dad who did not have enough 
to eat; they were clinging to life. That is replicated all over Haiti.
  This bill will not solve all the problems of Haiti, but it will begin 
to do the one thing that is needed: Create jobs. The Haitian people are 
an industrious people. They are hard working. They line up for jobs. 
Jobs in Haiti are what the country needs. It is what the new 
Government, that has been duly elected, needs--to be able to show some 
progress, to be able to give the people of Haiti some hope.
  I thank my colleagues. I thank all of them for including this 
provision. I thank my friend Lindsey Graham and others who represent 
textile interests. I know they had problems with this bill. We tried to 
work out some of those problems. They represented their constituents 
well. But they also had the heart for the people of Haiti.
  This is not just a question about humanitarian concern; it is also 
about our national interests. It is about our foreign policy. Haiti, as 
the Presiding Officer knows, being from Florida knows, is very close to 
Miami. It is probably an hour and 20 minute flight from Miami. Boat 
people come up there time and time again. We have had

[[Page S11645]]

United States Marines, United States troops in Haiti twice in the last 
decade. It is a country that we need to care about. It is very 
important to us.
  I thank the Chair. I thank my colleagues for including this 
provision. It is a provision that will make a difference. It is a 
provision that will save lives. I thank my colleagues for this.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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