[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 10]
[House]
[Page 13256]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1945
            A VOTE FOR CAFTA IS A VOTE FOR NATIONAL SECURITY

  (Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, as all of us know, CAFTA was finished 
last year and will soon be taken up by the Congress.
  While trade is a critical component of CAFTA, we must recognize that 
CAFTA is more than just about trade. We have a national security 
imperative in passing CAFTA. It is an important component of U.S. 
efforts to address the conditions that breed instability, terrorism, 
and international criminal activity.
  We must help ensure that the countries in Central America have the 
ability to fight the threats to their democratic institutions. Helping 
their economic growth is a critical factor to achieving success.
  CAFTA is the vehicle for achieving such important U.S. foreign policy 
and security objectives. CAFTA's defeat would harm not only trade, but 
antiterrorism and antinarcotic efforts as well.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support the passage of CAFTA. A 
vote for CAFTA is a vote for U.S. national security.

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