[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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