[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 147 (2001), Part 16]
[House]
[Page 21961]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



                          EXPORTING OUR FUTURE

  (Mr. GRAVES asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. GRAVES. Mr. Speaker, America is consistently the world's largest 
agricultural exporter. America generated $50 billion in exports last 
year and is expected to generate another $53 billion in exports this 
year. Passing Trade Promotion Authority will expand U.S. markets even 
further and provide a necessary step for America's continued economic 
growth.
  Since TPA expired in 1994, U.S. agricultural exports have 
increasingly faced onerous trade barriers that threaten both the farm 
economy and our entire balance of trade.
  American farmers depend on being able to export their products and 
crops to the rest of the world; and with 96 percent of the world's 
population living outside of the U.S. borders, there were billions of 
potential customers of our bounty. Additionally, soybean farmers in my 
home State of Missouri send more than 50 percent of their products 
overseas.
  Passing H.R. 3005 will open the doors to increased exports and make 
it easier to forge market-opening agreements on agriculture with our 
trading partners. Let us pass Trade Promotion Authority and unleash the 
vast potential of America's agriculture sector.

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