[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 146 (2000), Part 12]
[Senate]
[Pages 17875-17876]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



 TO AUTHORIZE EXTENSION OF NONDISCRIMINATORY TREATMENT TO THE PEOPLE'S 
                           REPUBLIC OF CHINA

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, the Senate will now 
resume consideration of H.R. 4444, which the clerk will report.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

       A bill (H.R. 4444) to authorize extension of 
     nondiscriminatory treatment (normal trade relations 
     treatment) to the People's Republic of China, and to 
     establish a framework for relations between the United States 
     and the People's Republic of China.

  Pending:

       Wellstone amendment No. 4118, to require that the President 
     certify to Congress that the People's Republic of China has 
     taken certain actions with respect to ensuring human rights 
     protection.
       Wellstone amendment No. 4120, to require that the President 
     certify to Congress that the People's Republic of China has 
     responded to inquiries regarding certain people who have been 
     detained or imprisoned and has made substantial progress in 
     releasing from prison people incarcerated for organizing 
     independent trade unions.
       Wellstone amendment No. 4121, to strengthen the rights of 
     workers to associate, organize and strike.
       Smith (of New Hampshire) amendment No. 4129, to require 
     that the Congressional-Executive Commission monitor the 
     cooperation of the People's Republic of China with respect to 
     POW/MIA issues, improvement in the areas of forced abortions, 
     slave labor, and organ harvesting.
       Byrd amendment No. 4131, to improve the certainty of the 
     implementation of import relief in cases of affirmative 
     determinations by the International Trade Commission with 
     respect to market disruption to domestic producers of like or 
     directly competitive products.
       Thompson amendment No. 4132, to provide for the application 
     of certain measures to covered countries in response to the 
     contribution to the design, production, development, or 
     acquisition of nuclear, chemical, or biological weapons or 
     ballistic or cruise missiles.
       Hollings amendment No. 4134, to direct the Securities and 
     Exchange Commission to require corporations to disclose 
     foreign investment-related information in 10-K reports.
       Hollings amendment No. 4135, to authorize and request the 
     President to report to the Congress annually beginning in 
     January, 2001, on the balance of trade with China for cereals 
     (wheat, corn, and rice) and soybeans, and to direct the 
     President to eliminate any deficit.
       Hollings amendment No. 4136, to authorize and request the 
     President to report to the Congress annually, beginning in 
     January, 2001, on the balance of trade with China for 
     advanced technology products, and direct the President to 
     eliminate any deficit.
       Hollings amendment No. 4137, to condition eligibility for 
     risk insurance provided by the Export-Import Bank or the 
     Overseas Private Investment Corporation on certain 
     certifications.

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, there will now be 1 
hour for closing remarks on the Byrd amendment No. 4131 and division 6 
of the Smith amendment No. 4129, with 15 minutes each under the control 
of the

[[Page 17876]]

Senator from Delaware, Mr. Roth; the Senator from New York, Mr. 
Moynihan; the Senator from West Virginia, Mr. Byrd; and the Senator 
from New Hampshire, Mr. Smith.


                           Amendment No. 4131

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from West Virginia.
  Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, I will speak briefly on my amendment. Then I 
will yield back the remainder of my time. I want to get to a markup of 
an appropriations bill by the Subcommittee on VA, HUD and Independent 
Agencies, of which I am a member.
  In simple language, my amendment adds surety for American firms and 
American workers who are caught up in the confusing process of seeking 
relief from a surge of unfair imports. The process of getting the U.S. 
Government to agree with a firm's firsthand judgement that a flood of 
unfairly dumped imports is undercutting a U.S. manufacturer is complex 
and time consuming. Language in the House-passed bill is an 
improvement, but it leaves a serious loophole. The House language 
provides deadlines for the government and the President to agree or 
disagree that relief is needed, but if the President fails to meet his 
deadline for a decision, nothing happens. No relief can be forthcoming 
until the President acts. And the President might be under other 
pressures, from the State Department, for instance, warning that an 
affirmative Presidential decision might upset some other, unrelated 
negotiation. The State Department is not charged with worrying about 
the fate of individual U.S. firms. The State Department is not charged 
with worrying about the fate of steel companies, for example.
  But for a firm hanging on by its fingernails, unable to pay its bills 
or secure needed financing, and for workers unsure when their lay-offs 
might end and their bills get paid, this uncertainty can be 
catastrophic. So the Byrd amendment says that if the President fails to 
act by the appointed deadline, the decision of the ITC will be 
implemented as though the President had agreed. So firms and workers 
will know on what date certain they will get their answer. The steel 
companies will know when they will get their answer. Coal miners will 
know, because they are affected by steel imports as well. That is what 
my amendment does. And for those affected firms, and those workers, 
that is pretty important. They need to know, and their bankers and 
creditors need to know. They need to be able to plan, and no other 
concerns should come before them, in my opinion. I've seen too many 
families suffering when the plant shuts down, too many towns hollowing 
out and falling into disrepair when people just give up. We need to 
give our citizens, our firms, an efficient and sure process to seek 
relief and to get relief when it is warranted.
  This is our chance. This is our chance to strike a blow for the steel 
industry, which is a very important industry in the State represented 
by the current Presiding Officer. It is a very important industry in my 
State, exceedingly important. Now is the time to strike a blow for 
freedom, for the freedom of those men and women who work in these 
industries, freedom to know when relief is coming. They should not have 
to wait until a President seeks his own convenient moment. They should 
know the date. And when that date comes, it should happen. Let's make 
it happen by my amendment.
  I yield back my time and suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. ROTH. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Hutchinson). Without objection, it is so 
ordered.
  Mr. ROTH. Mr. President, I yield myself such time as I may use.
  Mr. President, I rise in opposition to Senator Byrd's amendment 
regarding safeguards.
  I do so even though I share my colleague's concern regarding the 
President's utter disregard for statutory deadlines in our trade remedy 
laws. The President's failure to issue timely decisions in recent 
section 201 cases was simply unacceptable. Also unacceptable is the 
President's failure to meet the deadline set for modifying the 
retaliation list in the bananas dispute at the WTO. This pattern of 
utter disregard for statutory deadlines simply must stop.
  With that said, I must still oppose this amendment for both 
substantive and procedural reasons.
  With regard to substance, it is vitally important for the Finance 
Committee to be given the opportunity to consider this proposal before 
it is adopted into law. As I noted yesterday, there are serious flaws 
in this amendment that could make it unworkable in certain 
circumstances. It would be reckless to adopt such a significant change 
to our trade laws without adequate review, particularly given the flaws 
that are already apparent in what my good friend has proposed.
  I am also concerned that we are isolating the Chinese for 
differential treatment through this proposal. The agreement may not be 
inconsistent with the U.S.-China bilateral agreement, but it does 
create a procedure that differs sharply from our other trade remedy 
programs.
  I must also oppose the amendment because of the potential impact that 
this amendment will have on the passage of PNTR. In my view, a vote for 
any amendment, including this one, is a vote to kill PNTR.
  Mr. President, such a result would be devastating for our workers and 
farmers. That is why I urge my colleagues to vote against my good 
friend's amendment.
  I yield the floor and suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. THOMAS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. THOMAS. Mr. President I ask unanimous consent to speak in morning 
business for 10 minutes.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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