[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 11]
[House]
[Page 15627]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                 CENTRAL AMERICAN FREE TRADE AGREEMENT

  Mr. BROWN of Ohio. Mr. Speaker, last year the House Majority Leader 
the gentleman from Texas (Mr. DeLay), the most influential Republican 
in the Congress, promised that this Congress would vote during last 
year on the Central American Free Trade Agreement, a trade agreement 
that includes six countries in Latin America and the United States. 
December 31 rolled around, there was no vote.
  Majority Leader DeLay then promised a vote by Memorial Day on CAFTA. 
Memorial Day came and went.
  Majority Leader DeLay then promised a vote on CAFTA prior to July 4. 
July 4 has since come and gone. Now, Leader DeLay has said there will 
be a vote on the Central American Free Trade Agreement some time in 
July.
  Mr. Speaker, the reason that there has not been a vote on the Central 
American Free Trade Agreement is because of the overwhelming opposition 
to that trade agreement, opposition from Republicans on that side of 
the aisle, Democrats on this side of the aisle, opposition from small 
manufacturers, machine shops, tool and die makers, small manufacturing 
companies, opposition from unions and all kind of worker organizations, 
opposition from environmentalists, opposition from religious leaders, 
opposition from in the United States to the Central American Free Trade 
Agreement, widespread opposition among leaders and religious leaders, 
labor leaders, environmentalists advocates for the poor, small business 
people, small farmers and ranchers throughout the six Latin American 
countries. The reason they oppose the Central American Free Trade 
Agreement is it simply will not work for the great majority of people 
whether it is in Nicaragua or the United States, whether it is in 
Guatemala or the Dominican Republic.
  All of us understand that this CAFTA does not make sense. We should 
renegotiate the Central American Free Trade Agreement, get rid of this 
one, renegotiate one that works for everyone.
  The reason CAFTA does not work is that it was crafted by a select 
few, negotiated by a select few to benefit a select few. The drug 
companies were at the negotiating table. They, of course, will benefit 
from the Central American Free Trade Agreement, but small manufacturers 
will not.
  The insurance companies and the financial institutions and the banks 
were at the negotiating table helping to write the Central American 
Free Trade Agreement. The representatives of small farmers and small 
ranchers in small businesses were not at the table.
  Oil companies and other big energy companies were at the table 
negotiating the Central American Free Trade Agreement. But consumers 
and people who will be hurt, the poor and working families in all seven 
CAFTA countries, were not at the table. It, as I said, was negotiated 
by a select few, for a select few.
  Now, Mr. Speaker, the reason we know that our trade policy is not 
working is exemplified very well in this chart. 1992, the year I first 
ran for Congress, was elected, our trade deficit in this country was 
$38 billion. In 2004 that trade deficit was $618 billion, from $38 
billion to $618 billion in the space of 12 years.
  Mr. Speaker, those numbers, those are just trade deficit numbers. But 
what they represent is loss of manufacturing jobs in large part. The 
states in red are states that have lost 20 percent of their 
manufacturing jobs. My State of Ohio, at 216,000 in just 5 years. 
Michigan over 200,000, Illinois over 200,000, Pennsylvania over 
200,000. The Speaker, the man in the Speaker's chair, his State of 
Texas, 200,000. The gentleman from Oregon (Mr. Blumenauer's) State has 
lost 30,000 manufacturing jobs. The gentleman from New Jersey, (Mr. 
Pallone's) State of New Jersey has lost 105,000 manufacturing jobs in 
the last 5 years.
  Mr. Speaker, this trade policy is not working. These trade agreements 
are not working. This trade agreement is not about lifting up workers 
in the developing world. It is about U.S. companies moving plants to 
Honduras, outsourcing jobs to El Salvador and exploiting cheap labor in 
Guatemala, not to help those workers, because those workers living 
standards under past trade agreements simply have not risen.
  We know, Mr. Speaker, that we need a different CAFTA, and we have a 
different CAFTA when the world's poorest people can buy American goods, 
not just make them, we will know our trade policies are finally 
working. We should defeat this CAFTA and renegotiate a better Central 
American Free Trade Agreement.

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