[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 13]
[House]
[Page 17651]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                CAFTA IS NOT GOOD FOR THE UNITED STATES

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Jones) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. JONES of North Carolina. Mr. Speaker, I am back on the floor 
tonight to speak in opposition to CAFTA.
  First I want to talk about my State of North Carolina. Of course I 
was not here in the Congress when the Congress passed NAFTA about 1992, 
and it was in effect in 1993. But let me tell you briefly what happened 
to North Carolina. First of all, we lost approximately 200,000 jobs in 
about a 10- to 12-year period of time. We also as a Nation lost about 
2.5 million jobs.
  CAFTA is the ugly cousin of NAFTA. That is all you can say about it. 
NAFTA and CAFTA are cousins, and actually CAFTA is about 85 percent of 
what NAFTA is. So therefore, I hate to say it, but CAFTA is the ugly 
cousin.
  Let me also say that during that period of time, that prior to NAFTA, 
we had a surplus with Mexico, and now we have a deficit with Mexico. So 
now let me also share with you, Mr. Speaker, that prior to NAFTA, and 
then since NAFTA, we have had a 350 percent increase of illegal aliens 
coming to America since NAFTA became the law of the land. It did 
nothing to keep the Mexican workers down in Mexico.
  Mr. Speaker, tonight I want to take just a few minutes of my time, I 
know it is very limited, to tell you that last night on the floor of 
the House, I submitted completely for the Record, from the countries of 
Nicaragua, El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala, elected officials of 
those countries asked me last week at the interfaith conference of 
Protestants, Catholics, and a Jewish rabbi who are opposed to CAFTA to 
submit this, and I was glad to do it, so I submitted this for the 
Record in its entirety, but tonight for the last 2 or 3 minutes of my 
time, I want to read just certain points of what those people in the 
Central American countries are saying.
  We know what it is doing to American workers, which is not good for 
the American workers, but let me share this with you very quickly. 
First of all, these are some points they made in this letter. These are 
elected officials from these Central Americans countries that said no 
to CAFTA.
  First of all, let me read this: CAFTA will only lead to more social 
instability in the region as more medium and small farmers will lose 
their livelihoods and become part of the poor population numbers. CAFTA 
will only lead to more migration to the United States as more people 
are unable to make a living working in the rural areas and the job 
perspectives in the cities do not improve.
  The 20 million people who are currently poor and those that will be 
further displaced will turn to immigration to the United States as the 
only solution to their economic problems.
  Again, this is from the elected leaders of these countries that have 
asked me to submit this, and they have written every Member of 
Congress; not just me, but everyone else.
  Two or three other points very quickly. These seven elected officials 
as legislative representatives of the region, who represent a diverse 
perspective of political views, we respectfully ask you to vote no on 
CAFTA. In addition, they say that the opposition keeps growing all 
throughout the region, because this treaty threatens to weaken the 
already vulnerable democratic institutions that were created during the 
long conflicts of the 1980s.
  In addition, Mr. Speaker, and then I will close, CAFTA is a bad trade 
deal because it puts the interests of international corporations ahead 
of the welfare of the working poor and the poor in Central America. If 
CAFTA is approved, this social instability that CAFTA supporters like 
to use as a reason for approving this agreement will come not from the 
outside forces, but from the pressures created by the millions of 
displaced workers who will fall further into poverty.
  Mr. Speaker, I must say tonight in closing that we in this Congress 
should do what is right for the American people, and that is to defeat 
CAFTA and go back to the negotiating table and do what is right for the 
American workers and do what is right for the people in Central 
America, and then we will do what the Bible says, and that is to help 
each and every one that needs to be helped.
  God bless America. Thank you.

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