[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 51 (Wednesday, April 2, 2008)]
[House]
[Pages H1893-H1894]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          SUPPORT THE U.S.-COLOMBIA TRADE PROMOTION AGREEMENT

  (Mr. WELLER of Illinois asked and was given permission to address the 
House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. WELLER of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I rise to urge the Speaker of 
this House to bring forward for a vote in this House the U.S.-Colombia 
Trade Promotion Agreement. We know Colombia not only has the most long-
standing democracy in all of Latin America, but is our most trusted and 
dependable partner in counternarcotics and counterterrorism.
  We also know that President Uribe, the democratically-elected 
President of Colombia, is a good friend of the United States, and 
someone who has brought security in his successful efforts to eliminate 
the FARC, a narcotrafficking terrorist organization in Colombia, and as 
a result today he has made tremendous progress in reducing violence in 
that country and bringing security throughout the entire country.
  The U.S.-Colombia trade agreement is good for Illinois, my home 
State. My district is dependent on exports. Construction equipment that 
is made in my district and the 8,000 union workers

[[Page H1894]]

who make construction equipment suffer 15 percent tariffs when exported 
to Colombia. Under this trade agreement, they are eliminated on day 
one. The farm community will tell you the U.S.-Colombia trade agreement 
is the best ever when it comes to access for Illinois and U.S. farm 
products to the Colombian market.
  The bottom line is, the U.S.-Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement is a 
win-win for the United States, it is a win-win for Colombia.
  Mr. Speaker, we need to bring it to the floor. Colombia is our 
friend, and this deserves a vote.

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