[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 148 (2002), Part 1]
[Senate]
[Pages 40-41]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                       TRADE PROMOTION AUTHORITY

  Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, after the holiday season it is good to 
be back to do the people's business in the Senate. We have a lot of 
unfinished business, and we need to do some of this unfinished business 
right now.
  I think the American people are looking for the bipartisanship of the 
post-September 11 environment to continue. I think they are hopeful 
that a lot of very important legislation will pass, and I hope they are 
in a position of helping all of us reject political posturing and 
dueling with press statements. The American people really want results. 
I guess one would say they want action, not words.
  Yet we adjourned before the holidays before we could take steps 
necessary to aid our economy. We did not pass an economic stimulus 
bill, and we did not pass Trade Promotion Authority. We must do better. 
We need to pass both of these because they are very central to 
stimulating the economy, which we always think of being short term, but 
with the President's authority to negotiate trade agreements, we can 
have a long-term revival of the economy.
  I emphasize trade by often quoting President Clinton, who said one-
third of the jobs created during his administration were created by 
trade, which means trade is very important to the betterment of our 
economy. Generally, trade-related jobs are very good, higher paying 
jobs.
  So we did not pass a stimulus package and we did not pass trade 
promotion authority, although there was bipartisan support for both. 
There was overwhelming bipartisan support for trade promotion 
authority, as that bill was reported out of our Finance Committee 18 to 
3. So since we did not pass these, I believe we need to do better.
  Last week, President Bush was in Louisiana where he called upon the 
Senate to pass Trade Promotion Authority as a necessary part of our 
economic recovery. He also spoke on this issue near my State of Iowa, 
across the river in Illinois, in what we call the Quad Cities of our 
State. He was in Moline, IL, to promote trade promotion authority 
legislation and economic development legislation.
  President Bush said, as President Clinton has said, that trade is 
very much a jobs issue. He said if we trade more, there are more jobs 
available for hard-working Americans. He is as right as President 
Clinton was right on this very issue.
  Trade is essential to our economy. The United States exported over 
$780 billion in goods and services to more than 200 foreign markets 
last year. Exports provide more than one-fourth of all economic growth 
in America. Trade is a very important part of our economy generally 
over a long period of time, at least for the last 50 years. In the case 
of the post-September 11 recession, it is very important to our long-
term economic recovery.
  Of course, President Bush knows that trade is an important part of 
our economic recovery, and that is why he called upon the Senate of the 
United States to put our political parties aside and focus on what is 
best for the United States of America and the American people.
  As I said, we did act on this issue in the Finance Committee before 
the holidays. We came together in a bipartisan way and, in a vote of 18 
to 3, voted out trade promotion authority. The key to the strong 
bipartisan vote can be found in one word, and that one word is 
``compromise.''
  Let me be clear. The trade promotion authority bill that passed the 
Senate Finance Committee is a good bill. It deserves our support. In 
negotiating that bill with the chairman of the committee, my friend 
Senator Baucus, we included some items I may not like, but that is the 
essence of compromise. Neither one of us got everything we wanted, but 
we put aside our differences to do what is right for the American 
people. We came together, Democrat and Republican, and passed a good 
bill out of the Finance Committee that will help create jobs in 
America. Trade-related jobs, as everybody knows, pay 15 percent above 
our national average.
  For that compromise, I commend Senator Baucus. Now we need to do the 
same thing in the full Senate. We need to do it, and hopefully do it 
very quickly. The reason for doing it very quickly is that starting, I 
believe the date is February 7, there are negotiations following on the 
new round that was agreed to by the 142 nations of the World Trade 
Organization last November in Doha, Qatar, a new round, and the 
negotiations would start next month.
  We can start those negotiations without passing this bill, but the 
President will never be credible in these negotiations with the other 
142 nations unless the President has this trade promotion authority. So 
we need to do this, and hopefully not have the partisan bickering we 
have had on some legislation, so we can get it done very soon.

[[Page 41]]

  Trade promotion authority to the President is not only key to our 
economic recovery but is also a very important tool which helps us help 
other nations in the world, especially poorer countries, and maybe was 
best said by President Kennedy 40 years ago when he said trade, not 
aid, is the leadership the United States ought to take in the way of 
helping other nations.
  We have been giving aid since then, but the long-term benefit is 
helping another country to help itself, and the ability for them to 
sell their goods to us and for us in turn to sell our goods to them is 
very good. It not only is good economically, but I think it brings 
about a closeness of people around the world, of different societies, 
of different nations, so we have a greater prospect for peace. That 
should not be forgotten as well. Although we always talk about this in 
economic terms, we ought to think in terms of other things it does as 
well.
  So it helps us help poorer countries in a way that helps them to help 
themselves. It creates jobs. It helps lift people out of poverty. 
Poverty is our enemy. Poverty leads people in the wrong path, towards 
war, political instability, religious fanaticism.
  Following World War II, we stabilized Europe through the Marshall 
Plan and economic development. We won the cold war through our economic 
strength. Now we are fighting the war on terrorism. We need to keep up 
strong international economic leadership and bring more nations of the 
world into democracy and prosperity.
  The President's political leadership, as our chief diplomat, does 
that. He does that through his leadership as our Commander in Chief. 
Also, the President can do this as our chief trade negotiator and know 
that he not only wants political leadership in the United States, he 
wants the United States to give economic leadership and do it in a way 
to help other countries help themselves and have long-term economic 
recovery. Trade helps America do all these things, and trade promotion 
authority for President Bush is the key. There is really no reason to 
wait.
  The bill has strong bipartisan support. It will pass the Senate by a 
strong margin. That is why I urge today, as I have in several speeches 
over the last month, that our distinguished majority leader put trade 
promotion authority on the floor for a vote in February. There is no 
reason to wait on trade promotion authority. There is no need to waste 
time in giving the President the authority he needs to open new markets 
and create new jobs for the American people.
  By passing trade promotion authority early this year, the Senate will 
help the President spur economic growth and continue our world economic 
leadership, as well as military and political leadership. We will 
create new jobs.
  In this time of war on terrorism, it seems when a lot of people are 
pleading, and probably rightly so, that a lot of fanaticism comes when 
poverty is present, we will help fight terrorism by bringing more 
nations into democracy and prosperity.
  It is time to get the job done. The American people expect no less.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Miller). The Senator from Oregon, Mr. 
Smith.
  Mr. SMITH of Oregon. I ask unanimous consent to speak for 5 minutes 
in morning business.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator has up to 10 minutes under the 
order.

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