[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 55 (Tuesday, April 8, 2008)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2719-S2720]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
UNITED STATES-COLOMBIA TRADE PROMOTION AGREEMENT
Mr. BAUCUS. Mr. President, John F. Kennedy once said: ``Let us not
seek the Republican answer or the Democratic answer, but the right
answer.''
President Bush has said that he intends to submit the implementing
legislation for the United States-Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement.
He did so against the will of Congress, and he thus did not seek the
right answer. He did not even bother with the Republican or the
Democratic answer. The administration simply chose the easy answer. The
administration's easy answer is also the wrong answer. It is the wrong
answer for American workers. It is the wrong answer for the
administration's relationship with Congress. It is the wrong answer for
Colombian workers.
The Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement is a good trade agreement
[[Page S2720]]
that will level the playing field for America's exporters. It will open
the new export market for American products, including Montana beef,
wheat, and barley, and it will bolster a close ally in a troubled
region.
Expanding trade and supporting Colombia are important priorities.
That is why the administration should have handled this agreement the
right way. Had the administration sought the right answer, it would
have worked harder to support my top priority: American workers. Had
the administration not rushed forward with the easy answer, we could
have had trade adjustment assistance in place before considering this
agreement. We need expanded and effective trade adjustment assistance
for America's workers. That is clear. That means ensuring that
America's service workers--not just its manufacturers and its farmers--
receive the help they need.
Service workers make up 80 percent of our workforce. They have helped
to build and support the knowledge-based economy that is the engine of
America's growth. They work hard. They deserve our support in return.
Expanded and effective trade adjustment assistance must also cover
workers whose jobs have been shipped offshore, not just as a result of
trade agreements but others as well. It must raise the health care tax
credit to make it affordable and accessible, and expanded and effective
TAA--trade adjustment assistance--must double the training funds
available to our workers.
Were the administration serious about this agreement, it would not
have resorted to the easy procedural answers either. In high school
civics class, they teach that the Constitution grants Congress the
power to regulate foreign commerce. Congress entrusted this power
temporarily--and, I might add, importantly, conditionally--to the
administration under something called trade promotion authority; that
is, Congress did not write a blank check. By submitting the agreement
now and against Congress's will, the administration abuses the power
Congress granted it. By forcing Congress to consider this agreement
now, the administration offends the trust of Congress and violates the
compact that is the essence of fast track; that is, trade promotion
authority.
When Congress extended trade promotion authority--or, as people call
it, fast track--they did so on the condition that the administration
would consult with Congress about the text of proposed agreements
before it sent them up. Congress set up an informal markup process to
apply before the administration formally sent up the legislation. That
informal procedure is very important. It was to be conducted, again,
before the administration formally sent up its legislative language.
The administration has now completely bypassed that process. Now
Congress has no opportunity to affect the language of the proposed
agreement. This administration has said: It is my way or the highway.
Procedural checks and balances are the cornerstone of the
congressional-executive relationship. It is the cornerstone of trade
promotion authority. Democratic and Republican administrations have
both respected this cornerstone. But today, this administration
shattered this cornerstone. By so doing, they further diminish our
trust.
By sending up the implementing bill today; that is, before
consultation in the right way, the administration has failed to deliver
the right answer for Colombia's workers. Colombia's workers must know
that they can safely pursue equality and justice in the workplace, free
from the violence that has plagued Colombia in the past.
The Colombian Government has made great strides in this area. The
enforceable labor provisions in the United States-Colombia trade
agreement are a critical step to ensuring further progress. We must
make sure the Colombian Government takes these obligations seriously.
They must show that these obligations are not just paper promises.
The normal congressional fast-track process of hearings and formal
markups--which the administration has short-circuited--is an important
time for Congress to air concerns, exercise its leverage. It allows
Congress to ensure that the Colombian Government is committed to
prosecuting labor violence. These hearings are important to accomplish
that objective. It gives us real leverage to seek commitments from the
Colombian Government and the administration to create a work
environment in Colombia grounded in law and backed by action. It also
allows Congress the chance to help the Colombian Government, through
funding provisions included in the implementing bill, to create an
environment where those who seek a better life through employment can
flourish. Short-circuiting the process and forcing a premature vote on
a trade agreement does nothing to help Congress accomplish these goals.
The President's unprecedented handling of the United States-Colombia
Free Trade Agreement raises extraordinary questions about how we can
move this agreement forward. For America's workers, for the
relationship between Congress and the President, for the Colombian
people, Congress must now find answers. Finding the right answer has
never been easy. By submitting this agreement as it did and when it
did, the administration has sought the easy answer, but in the end, the
administration has simply made it harder to find the right answer.
Mr. President, I yield the floor, and I suggest the absence of a
quorum.
The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The clerk will call the roll.
The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator from California is
recognized.
Mrs. FEINSTEIN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order
for the quorum call be rescinded.
The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so
ordered.
Mrs. FEINSTEIN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to speak as in
morning business.
The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so
ordered.
Mrs. FEINSTEIN. Mr. President, last week, I tried and failed to
introduce an amendment which essentially would set minimum standards,
minimum Federal standards for--I see the chairman of the committee has
just come in, so if I might wait for a moment and see what he wishes to
do. May I note the absence of a quorum for a moment, please.
The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The clerk will call the roll.
The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
Mr. ALEXANDER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order
for the quorum call be rescinded.
The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so
ordered.
Mr. ALEXANDER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to speak as in
morning business until the managers of the legislation wish to proceed.
The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so
ordered.
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