[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 4]
[House]
[Page 4775]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




          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. Mr. Speaker, I rise to urge the Speaker of 
this House to bring forward for a vote in this House the U.S.-Colombia 
Trade Promotion Agreement. We know Colombia not only has the most long-
standing democracy in all of Latin America, but is our most trusted and 
dependable partner in counternarcotics and counterterrorism.
  We also know that President Uribe, the democratically-elected 
President of Colombia, is a good friend of the United States, and 
someone who has brought security in his successful efforts to eliminate 
the FARC, a narcotrafficking terrorist organization in Colombia, and as 
a result today he has made tremendous progress in reducing violence in 
that country and bringing security throughout the entire country.
  The U.S.-Colombia trade agreement is good for Illinois, my home 
State. My district is dependent on exports. Construction equipment that 
is made in my district and the 8,000 union workers who make 
construction equipment suffer 15 percent tariffs when exported to 
Colombia. Under this trade agreement, they are eliminated on day one. 
The farm community will tell you the U.S.-Colombia trade agreement is 
the best ever when it comes to access for Illinois and U.S. farm 
products to the Colombian market.
  The bottom line is, the U.S.-Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement is a 
win-win for the United States, it is a win-win for Colombia.
  Mr. Speaker, we need to bring it to the floor. Colombia is our 
friend, and this deserves a vote.

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