[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 146 (2000), Part 8]
[House]
[Page 11326]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



               COMMUNITY ECONOMIC ADJUSTMENT ACT OF 2000

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Maine (Mr. Baldacci) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. BALDACCI. Mr. Speaker, first I would like to commend the 
gentleman from Connecticut (Mr. Larson) for working on and developing 
this legislation and to be able to work with him in recognizing that 
the economic tide of prosperity has not reached all Americans in every 
place in America. I would also like to commend him on the ability of 
working in a bipartisan fashion with the gentleman from Pennsylvania 
(Mr. Weldon) and the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Kasich) and other 
Members, because we recognize that we have to work together across the 
aisle in order to accomplish things, and anything that is worthwhile to 
the people that we represent.
  New market initiatives that the President has proposed, working with 
the Speaker, recognize that everyone in every place has not been 
touched by economic prosperity. So while we are trying to develop 
markets overseas and go more towards more and more global trade and 
world trade, we must look in the rearview mirror and make sure that all 
Americans in all of America have an opportunity to live and achieve the 
American dream.
  Mr. Speaker, this legislation, the Community Economic Adjustment Act 
of 2000, which I am an original cosponsor of together with my 
colleague, would create a single agency at the Federal level to be able 
to respond with the same force that FEMA does for natural disasters, 
that the defense relocation acts as in terms of base closures, would be 
able to react in terms of economic distress. There are parts of Maine 
that have over 9 percent unemployment. There have been plant closings 
which I have been a part of trying to make sure that people have 
training, education and one-stop centers. When we are looking into the 
faces and the eyes of people who have nowhere else to turn but an 
extended unemployment check and relocation costs, we know that we have 
more to do here in the United States Congress, in the capital of this 
United States.
  That is why this legislation, along with other proposals that the 
President and the Speaker are pushing, working in concert together, are 
going to try to make sure that that tide is in all areas of the country 
and has an opportunity to hit all people throughout this country to 
give them the same opportunities, to give corporations the same 
opportunities to invest here; to give the same resources available to 
people here that we provide overseas, so that they have an opportunity 
to be able to achieve and strengthen their skills and educational 
opportunities; and this legislation does it.
  The gentleman from Connecticut (Mr. Larson) and myself and other 
Members are seeking cosponsors so that we can develop more sponsors and 
cosponsors on a bipartisan basis. At this point we are talking about 
over 160 cosponsors so far, to develop bipartisan widespread support in 
the United States Congress to recognize that we need to have a 
comprehensive trade policy; that we need to have a comprehensive review 
of global policies at the same time that we are advancing those 
policies; that we are trying to make sure that each part of Maine and 
America have an opportunity, whether it is empowerment zones, 
enterprise communities, new markets initiatives, or the coordination of 
these agencies, so that we can begin to do some collaboration here, so 
that we can have agencies working together and not at cross-purposes.
  In this Congress, we have worked very hard to restructure the job 
training programs so that we did not have 66 job training programs 
costing over $30 billion. The fact of the matter is, we left out some 
of the NAFTA job training programs, some of the trade adjustment 
assistance programs. We did this to make sure that there is 
coordination and a single source so that when the people are walking 
into these sources of training and education, that they have this 
opportunity.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Connecticut, if I have 
time, if he would like to comment on this legislation; but I would like 
to commend him at this time and seek to continue to work with him.
  Mr. LARSON. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Maine for 
yielding. I would only add to his eloquently stated verse with regard 
to the impact that this legislation will have on workers all across 
this great Nation of ours and in my home State of Connecticut. The fact 
of the matter is, as the gentleman has pointed out, that as we 
experience globalization, we know that the blessings of commerce are 
not evenly spread across this Nation. So that is why it is critically 
important that the Federal Government coordinate a response in a timely 
fashion that this legislation will provide.
  Again, I thank the gentleman from Maine for his hard work on this 
bill; and as he indicated, we seek cosponsors as well.

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