[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 13]
[House]
[Pages 17655-17656]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                 CENTRAL AMERICAN FREE TRADE AGREEMENT

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Texas (Mr. Hensarling) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. HENSARLING. Mr. Speaker, I rise tonight in strong support of the 
Central American Free Trade Agreement, known as CAFTA. This trade 
agreement will help boost American exports, create more American jobs, 
help fuel economic growth, and, perhaps more importantly, help preserve 
the economic liberties of the common American citizen.
  Now, those favoring protectionism tonight have cited several 
fallacious arguments for rejecting CAFTA and other free trade efforts. 
Some argue CAFTA will hurt business and jobs. The opposite is true. 
Even more than previous free trade agreements, U.S. producers have so 
much to gain under CAFTA. You see, our U.S. markets are already open to 
Central America. Eighty percent of imports from the six CAFTA countries 
already enter duty free. Since our markets are already

[[Page 17656]]

open to goods from these countries, CAFTA will level the playing field 
like never before for American exports.
  CAFTA could expand U.S. farm exports by $1.5 billion a year as prices 
of U.S. wheat and other crops are free from tariffs. Manufacturing and 
information technology could see exports increase by $1 billion 
annually when duties are removed. And the list goes on and on. A vote 
against CAFTA is a vote against new American jobs.
  Another argument used by those who oppose trade is concern for the 
trade deficit, but as I just pointed out, our markets are already 80 
percent open to the CAFTA countries. It is their markets that are 
mostly closed to us. Therefore, CAFTA can only help ease the trade 
deficit.
  Now, other people argue that CAFTA will somehow increase illegal 
immigration. The opposite is, of course, true. Most illegal aliens do 
not come to America because they love hot dogs, baseball, and apple 
pie. They come quite simply because they are poor, and they need to 
feed their families. Trade with these Central American countries will 
help make the Central American countries more prosperous. Greater 
Central American prosperity will lead to fewer desperate workers, which 
in turn will lead to fewer illegal immigrants than would otherwise come 
over.
  The CAFTA understanding on immigration measures explicitly states 
that it does not impose on the parties any obligations with respect to 
foreigners seeking employment or residency. Simply put: A vote against 
CAFTA is actually a vote for more illegal immigration.
  Another argument which just simply does not stand up to scrutiny, Mr. 
Speaker, is that somehow, some way, somewhere the U.S. loses 
sovereignty. CAFTA is a voluntary agreement with our neighbors to lower 
tariffs according to a mutually agreed-upon schedule. If any country 
violates their commitments, other countries, of course, are free to 
retaliate as they wish. But no international body can make or change 
U.S. law. Again, no international body can change or make U.S. law. All 
we do is agree to a nonbinding dispute resolution that we are free to 
ignore at our will.
  Mr. Speaker, we must pass CAFTA and the free trade it represents. 
Free trade delivers greater choice of goods and services to our 
consumers at lower prices. That means American families can buy better 
products using less of their paychecks. It is all about competition, 
and competition has always helped the consumer. We have over 200 years 
of history to prove it. And it does not matter if that competition 
comes from Nashville, Nicaragua, El Paso, or El Salvador.
  Over the past few years, prices have dropped for a wide array of 
goods and services that are produced around the world, such as video 
equipment and toys, yet we pay a whole lot more for products that do 
not compete with foreign countries; for example, prescription drugs and 
cable TV. Competition works. Trade works. No one should come to this 
floor claiming to speak for low-income Americans and oppose CAFTA.
  Mr. Speaker, beyond all the obvious economic benefits of free trade, 
we must recognize that this is fundamentally an issue of personal 
freedom. Nations do not trade with nations. People trade with people. 
With the exception of national security considerations, every American 
citizen should have the right to determine the origin of the goods and 
services that they want to purchase. Is this not the land of the free? 
Have not generations fought and sacrificed to secure the blessings of 
liberty?
  Now, maybe we in Congress have the power, but do we have the right, 
do we have the moral authority to tell a waitress in Topeka, Kansas, 
she cannot buy a can of beans to help feed her family because it comes 
from El Salvador? Do we have the right, do we have the moral authority 
to tell a construction worker in New York that he cannot buy a pretty 
blue dress for his 3-year-old daughter because it comes from Honduras? 
Shame on us if we claim we do have that right.
  Mr. Speaker, for over 200 years America has benefited from more trade 
and greater competition. I urge my colleagues to once again reject raw 
protectionism, reject bitter partisanship, and stand for freedom, stand 
for prosperity, stand for free trade and vote for the Central American 
Free Trade Agreement.

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