[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 96 (Thursday, June 14, 2007)]
[House]
[Page H6408]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    OPPOSE COLOMBIAN TRADE AGREEMENT

  (Ms. SOLIS asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. SOLIS. Mr. Speaker, today I rise in strong opposition to a free 
trade agreement with Colombia. The Colombian Government has ties with 
paramilitary organizations and international criminal networks. Each 
year more unionists are killed in Colombia than the rest of the world 
combined, many at the hands of country paramilitaries. Yet Colombia is 
not willing to investigate these murders and prosecute perpetrators.
  In 2006, seventy-two trade unionists were assassinated. The 
perpetrators continue to enjoy 98 percent impunity. Colombia's labor 
laws also do not conform with ILO recommendations. A trade agreement 
with Colombia, in my opinion, could cost more U.S. jobs and increase 
our debt. It would further impoverish rural communities in Colombia and 
reduce access by Colombians to new medicines.
  A U.S. trade policy should promote a democracy based on protection of 
fundamental human rights, and not a race to the bottom. I urge my 
colleagues to reject a trade agreement with Colombia.

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