[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 40 (Monday, March 10, 2008)]
[House]
[Page H1435]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         ECONOMIC ISOLATIONISM

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from California (Mr. Dreier) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. DREIER. Madam Speaker, as the two Democratic contenders duke it 
out in the Presidential campaign, there's one issue that they both seem 
very eager to be identified with. And it's very unfortunate, it's the 
issue of economic isolationism. This kind of policy is as dangerous as 
it is inconsistent with their own rhetoric.
  Both Democratic contenders like to talk about the need to enhance our 
Nation's image and increase our leadership in the international 
community. They talk about diplomacy and soft power, and then they turn 
around and insist we try to withdraw from the worldwide marketplace and 
cede our global economic leadership. It has even been suggested by them 
that we go back on a 14-year deal with our two closest neighbors, 
including our neighbor to the north who has been such a key political 
ally.
  Perhaps this outlandish rhetoric is delivered with a wink and a nod. 
Perhaps it's merely an attempt to score a few political points without 
any intention to actually dismantle the deep economic and political 
ties that we share with our trading partners in this hemisphere. 
Frankly, I hope that that is the case. But either way, Madam Speaker, 
this is very dangerous rhetoric.
  NAFTA has long been addressed by those running for office as though 
it were an unmitigated disaster; no one seems to want to touch it with 
a 10-foot pole. After all, everyone knows that NAFTA has hurt our 
economy and cost us millions of jobs. Right? Wrong. In 1994, when Bill 
Clinton sent NAFTA to the Congress, the gross domestic product in this 
country was $6.9 trillion. Today, we have a $14.1 trillion economy. In 
other words, we have more than doubled the size of our economy in the 
NAFTA-era. When adjusted for inflation, the numbers are still very 
striking, with 50 percent growth since 1994. During the same period, 25 
million jobs have been created, while our labor force has grown by 18 
million.
  Fourteen years of NAFTA have seen our economy grow considerably while 
more Americans are working than ever before and new jobs have abounded. 
To put it bluntly, anyone who says that NAFTA has destroyed our economy 
is flat out wrong. Not only has the predicted ``giant sucking sound'' 
that we heard about during the NAFTA debate not come to pass, but the 
precise opposite has taken place.
  But, Madam Speaker, NAFTA is just one component of the complex 
relationships that entail our global engagement, where the economic and 
the political are inextricably entwined, and nowhere is this role more 
critical than in our own neighborhood. We have spent years and 
countless resources promoting democracy in this hemisphere. The rise of 
Hugo Chavez in Venezuela and his cohorts throughout the region have 
demonstrated that authoritarianism in our backyard is still a reality. 
As he sends troops to the border he shares with our friend and ally, 
Colombia, we are reminded that tyranny in our hemisphere still poses 
very grave threats.
  NAFTA, CAFTA, the Peru Free Trade Agreement, and the proposed 
agreements with Colombia and Panama build upon the twin pillars of 
liberty: democratic governments and free markets. They enhance our 
economic strength with new opportunities and give us greater leverage 
to ensure that we have peaceful and prosperous neighbors. And we know 
that peace and prosperity, Madam Speaker, go hand in hand.
  We simply cannot disengage economically without disengaging 
politically. Engagement through trade is our source of strength and our 
leadership, and we would disengage to our peril. Those who regard our 
leadership in the international community so casually that they would 
trash it for political gain threaten not only our own prosperity, but 
our ability to play a positive role in this hemisphere and around the 
globe as we seek to grow our economies and to grow the economies of our 
neighbors.

                          ____________________