[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 147 (2001), Part 16]
[House]
[Page 22365]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



                        FAST TRACK PROFITEERING

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Brown) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. BROWN of Ohio. Mr. Speaker, on the evening of September 11, some 
gas stations in northeast Ohio and across the country raised the price 
of gas to $4, $5, even $6 a gallon. Many people called that war 
profiteering.
  Unfortunately over the last 9 weeks or so, something not much 
different has occurred here on Capitol Hill. You might call it 
political profiteering.
  First, Congress passed a bailout bill giving the airline industry $15 
billion in cash and loan guarantees with virtually no strings attached: 
no sacrifices for the airline executives, no assistance for the 100,000 
unemployed airline workers, no money for any kind of airline safety.
  Then 3 weeks ago, in the name of stimulating the economy, this 
Chamber passed new tax cuts and accelerated others for the richest 
people and companies in America. Again, very little was included in the 
plan for laid-off workers and those among us who needed assistance the 
most.
  Then a couple of weeks ago, political profiteering reached new 
heights. That week, the Bush administration's trade representative, Bob 
Zoellick, sought to link the trade negotiating authority known as Fast 
Track to our Nation's antiterrorism efforts. He went further by 
claiming that those of us who oppose Fast Track are a bit indifferent 
to terrorism and perhaps unpatriotic. According to Mr. Zoellick, free 
trade is the way to combat terrorism around the world; and if you do 
not support it, then you do not support real American values.
  Unfortunately, Mr. Speaker, Fast Track and free trade do not embody 
American values as well as our trade representative has indicated. In 
Qatar, where this week's World Trade Organization ministerial is being 
held, the people do not have freedom of speech, they do not have 
freedom of assembly, they do not have freedom of religion, freedom of 
association, and they do not have free elections. Qatar's human rights 
record may not be in line with American values, but it is familiar 
territory to many of corporate America's trading partners.
  Supporters of Fast Track say interaction with the developing world 
spreads democracy, but as we engage developing countries in trade and 
investment, democratic countries are losing ground to dictatorships and 
to authoritarian developing countries. Democratic India is less 
desirable for Western investors than authoritarian China. Democratic 
Taiwan is losing out to autocratic Indonesia. In 1989, 57 percent of 
developing country exports in the manufacturing sector came from 
democracies. Since then, exports from democracies fell to 22 percent. 
Fully 65 percent of developing country exports come from totalitarian/
authoritarian nations. The fact is Western investors want to go to 
places like China and Indonesia, which are dictatorships, because they 
have pliable work forces, they have authoritarian governments, and they 
are very predictable for Western businesses. Western corporations want 
to invest in countries that have poor or nonexistent environmental 
standards, that have below poverty wages, that have no worker benefits, 
that have no opportunities to bargain collectively.
  As American investment moves to those dictatorships where they do not 
have the values that we have, American working families lose out. Our 
trade agreements go to great lengths to protect investors and protect 
property rights; but they do nothing to protect workers in this country 
or in developing countries, and they do little to protect the 
environment.
  Mr. Zoellick's call for an absolute trade negotiating authority in 
the name of patriotism must be recognized for what it is, pure and 
simple political profiteering. We have all watched with pride the 
indomitable spirit of working Americans in response to the events of 
September 11. The right response for us to defend the jobs and values 
of these same Americans is a ``no'' vote on trade promotion authority.

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