[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 4]
[House]
[Page 4643]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1215
          SUPPORT THE U.S.-COLOMBIA TRADE PROMOTION AGREEMENT

  (Mr. WELLER of Illinois asked and was given permission to address the 
House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. WELLER of Illinois. Madam Speaker, I rise to urge the majority 
leadership to bring to the floor the U.S.-Colombia Trade Promotion 
Authority Agreement. It is a good agreement. The question is, who is 
Colombia? It is the longest-standing democracy in Latin America, it is 
the United States' most reliable and best partner in counterterrorism 
and counternarcotics, and, frankly, it is an important ally of the 
United States.
  This trade agreement is good for the U.S., it is good for Colombia. 
Right now, Colombian products come into the United States, and they 
come in basically duty-free without any taxes. Our products going to 
Colombia suffer taxes. Under this trade promotion agreement, 80 percent 
of those duties and taxes are eliminated immediately. It is good for 
Illinois workers, Illinois manufacturers and Illinois farmers.
  There are those who oppose this agreement. The Washington Post 
probably said it best yesterday in their editorial when they stated 
their support for the U.S.-Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement. They 
noted, ``The agreement is currently being held hostage by Members of 
the House who argue that Colombia, despite a dramatic drop in its 
overall murder rate, doesn't deserve this.''
  The bottom line is, President Uribe has greatly reduced violence. The 
murder rate is lower than in Baltimore or Washington.

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