[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 14]
[House]
[Pages 18850-18851]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                     GETTING AMERICA BACK ON TRACK

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Ms. Harris). Under a previous order of the 
House, the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Strickland) is recognized for 5 
minutes.
  Mr. STRICKLAND. Madam Speaker, I would hope that government could 
learn from its mistakes, and, if there ever was a mistake, it was 
America's entry into the North America Free Trade Agreement.
  The victims of that colossal disaster reside in all of our 
Congressional districts. They are the unemployed auto workers, the 
steelworkers, the truckers and the textile workers. They are families 
who are struggling just to get by. They remember better times. They 
remember life before America entered the ``race to the bottom,'' before 
their jobs moved overseas.
  Let us consider where NAFTA has brought us. The U.S. trade deficit in 
2002 was $500 billion, the highest deficit ever recorded, and the 
combined trade deficit with Canada and Mexico is now more than ten 
times what it was before NAFTA went into effect. Think of that; our 
combined trade deficit with Canada and Mexico is now ten times more 
than it was before NAFTA went into effect.
  But, sadly, Madam Speaker, it seems that some either did not learn, 
or just simply do not care, because this Congress is now being 
presented with more free trade agreements, this time with Chile and 
Singapore, and they are just more of the same; more jobs lost, more 
hard times for Americans. It is deja vu all over again. I will be 
voting against both the Chile and the Singapore Free Trade Agreement 
Implementation Acts, because they mean nothing but hardship for 
American workers.
  Oh, but now we are being told that these agreements may require Chile 
and Singapore to meet international standards on workers' rights. Oh, 
but, of course, they provide absolutely no enforcement mechanisms. 
Foreign labor costs and practices will continue to undercut those of 
America's workers in this global race to the bottom, which simply means 
more jobs lost right here at home.
  What is worse, these two agreements appear to be just the beginning 
of the NAFTA legacy. Next we are told there is going to be a so-called 
Central America Free Trade Agreement, or CAFTA, that is currently being 
negotiated by the United States trade representatives. CAFTA has the 
potential to create a free trade zone in the Western

[[Page 18851]]

Hemisphere that would flood our borders with cheap imports, and our 
only export, Madam Speaker, would be our good-paying jobs.
  Madam Speaker, it is time we took a stand. It is time we put 
America's workers first.
  Madam Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues to just simply look at the 
record. Our country has taken the wrong path. We cannot afford to go 
down this dangerous road any further. I urge my colleagues to oppose 
the Chile Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act and the Singapore 
Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act. It is time we got our country 
back on track.
  Madam Speaker, I represent 12 counties that stretch along the eastern 
and southern portion of Ohio. In one of my counties, Mahoning county, 
the unemployment rate this very day is 11.4 percent. In the City of 
Youngstown, the unemployment rate is 18.2 percent. I have people who 
have worked in steel mills and are now jobless. We have steel mills 
that are under threat. The china and pottery industry along the Ohio 
River is under threat. The titanium industry is under threat.
  Our country is under threat, and I would urge the President and this 
Congress, both Democrats and Republicans, to recognize reality, to turn 
from our foolish ways and to return to the attitude that I believe our 
forefathers had before us, who believed that our first obligation as 
representatives in this body is to put this country and our communities 
and our constituents first.

                          ____________________