[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 11]
[House]
[Page 15449]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                 OPPOSE COLOMBIAN FREE TRADE AGREEMENT

  (Mr. HARE asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. HARE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong opposition to the 
pending Colombian free trade agreement. Since 1991, over 2,000 labor 
organizers have been murdered in Colombia. Many of these cases are 
never investigated, and the perpetrators go unpunished, ready to strike 
again.
  For 13 years I served as the union leader for UNITE HERE Local 617. 
If I had born in Colombia, there is a strong possibility that I would 
not be here today fighting for working class people. My effort for 
higher wages, better working conditions, and a secure pension could 
have cost me my life.
  Many will argue that the labor rights ``fixes'' in the May 10 
agreement between the USTR and congressional leadership will be enough 
to prevent the deaths of union workers, but no worker protection 
provision comes close to addressing the brutal violations of workers' 
rights that we see in Colombia.
  Mr. Speaker, in good conscience, I cannot support a free trade 
agreement that rewards Colombia with prized access to American markets 
as its workers live in constant fear.

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