Congressman Phil Hare Talks Trade Agreements
By Karen S. Lynch
March 17, 2008
U.S. Rep. Phil Hare, D-Rock Island, spoke in
opposition to a proposed free trade agreement with Colombia recently from the
Steelworkers Union Hall in Galesburg.
Figures from the ÒEconomic Policy InstituteÓ in
October 2006 show after the passage of NAFTA the trade deficit had soared over
the past dozen years, displacing one million jobs nationwide. The report also
stated there was a $112 billion trade deficit between the U.S. Canada, and
Mexico alone, a number that is growing with the weak U.S. dollar. A similar
agreement, CAFTA passed with Central America.
Three million jobs have been lost in the U.S. over the
last seven years. Hare wrote in a news release March 11, ÒWith the U.S. economy
on the brink of recession – 63,000 jobs lost in February, an annual trade
deficit over $700 billion, and foreclosures reaching all-time highs, the
American people cannot afford another failed Bush trade agreement.Ó
According to Hare, there was a meeting with Colombia
President Uribe six months ago asking the United States to have patience with
them on continuing violence in Columbia. Uribe has been releasing paramilitary,
responsible for the assassination of 2500 trade unionists and their families
over the last 20 years. The U.S. has spent $5 billion on ÒPlan ColombiaÓ to
help defeat narco-terrorists and eliminate illegal activity. The efforts claim
to have eliminated 500 metric tons of cocaine from the market in 2006 alone,
depriving terrorist groups of $850 million in funds to buy arms.
Congressman Hare is concerned with the ongoing
violence in Colombia. ÒMore labor leaders have been murdered in Colombia than
the rest of the worldÕs nations combined—a clear assault on fundamental
human rights. The perpetrators are rarely, if ever, prosecuted for their
crimes.Ó Hare said conversations held with prosecutors say they are not really
allowed to prosecute and are being stonewalled. ÒThe violence has to stop.Ó
President Bush is pressuring the legislature to
approve the proposed Colombia Free Trade Agreement, giving Congress 60
legislative days to approve the act. Hare vehemently opposes the trade deal
with Colombia. ÒIÕm not voting for it, and IÕm actually going to work against
it.Ó
President Bush says a U.S.-Colombia Free Trade
Agreement is essential to our national security. A March 12, 2008 White House
press release says, ÒA free trade agreement with Colombia would bring increased
economic opportunity to the people of Colombia through sustained economic
growth, new employment opportunities, and increased investment. This trade
agreement will reinforce democracy by fighting corruption, increasing
transparency and fostering accountability and the rule of law. The agreement
would bolster one of our closest friends in the hemisphere and rebut the
antagonists in Latin America who say the United States cannot be trusted to
keep its word.Ó
According to a September 25, 2002 White House press
release, President Bush and Colombia President, Alvaro Uribe met in the Oval
Office. In a press conference after their meeting, President Bush said, ÒIt is
my honor to welcome this good man, this friend of freedom to the Oval Office. I
have been incredibly impressed by his vision for a peaceful Colombia and a prosperous
Colombia. HeÕs a man who told the people of his country that he would work to
eradicate terrorism, narco-trafficking. The Colombian people believe him and so
do I.Ó
President Uribe also promised to work to curb violence
in Columbia. ÒWe needed the support of your country, the support of your
government, your personal support for my country to solve problems of violence,
economic and social problemsÉallies such as you and your government for
Colombians to restore law and order, for Colombians to restore a way of
creating employment, of improvement of our standard of living.Ó
Despite commitments from both Presidents Bush and
Uribe to bring stability to the area, with U.S. financial support, the violence
and corruption continues. Now the Bush administration is looking for a free
trade deal to fix the problems in Colombia that diplomacy has failed.
Hare has spoken out against free trade agreements,
including the recent passage of the agreement with Peru and a proposed
agreement with Korea. The U.S. is also looking to expand free trade with
Panama.
Concerned about extending free trade with Colombia,
Hare stated in March the trade deal is also a matter of national security. Hare
has concerns about further losses of American jobs and workers rights in
Colombia, and environmental issues.
Hare also promised to fight hard against other pending
trade deals, including proposals with South Korea. ÒWe shipped 3500 automobiles
to Korea. They shipped over 300,000 automobiles here and because of the tariffs
there, that has to be removed.Ó Hare said he met with the South Korean labor
unions in his office in Washington, who also oppose a free trade agreement with
South Korea and had even held up Korean Congress from going into session for
about two weeks over this issue, saying it was not good for them either.
ÒWhat we need is a trade policy. To have all these
environmental provisions and workers rights is good, except there is a problem
called George W. Bush. He is responsible for the enforcement of all these trade
policies. This is a guy our own government has had to sue to get one OSHA
standard. This President doesnÕt even take care of our miners and people here
at home and we expect him to enforce a trade deal in Colombia.Ó
Hare said we should take a deep breath and work out a
policy of what a trade deal should be and bring in manufacturing people to gage
the effects on middle class working people. Many of our trade deals are
supposed to increase export of American beef and other agriculture products.
ÒAgriculture people are always treated as second-class on these trade deals, if
they are brought up at all.Ó
Congressman Hare said he is not against foreign trade
as long as certain conditions improve, such as stopping the violence in
Columbia and improving human rights issues. However, he feels these agreements
must be made on a level playing field with more assistance for American workers
who are hurt by our current trade policies.
ÒIn the PresidentÕs State of the Union, he made it
very clear he wanted to see some trade readjustment and trade assistance. In
Maytag for example – here are people who worked very hard, played by the
rules, made two wage concessions at least and at the end of the day, their jobs
take off to Mexico for nothing more than greed when they (Maytag) decide they
are going to leave.Ó
Increased funding for job training just passed out of
the House and is now in the Senate, a bill President Bush has threatened to
veto. Hare worked on a bill that came out of the Ways and Means Committee
proposal, named the ÒDavid Bevard BillÓ after a former 32-year Maytag worker
(the former local IAM union President) who testified before Congress on TAA
(Trade Adjustment Assistance.)
The final bill voted out of the house contains 80 percent
of HareÕs proposals. The President said, however he would not support the bill
voted out of the House. ÒI took the President at his word – that he would
support the bill. I donÕt know which Bush to solicit here, the one who spoke
that night or the one that says he is not going to support the bill.Ó Hare said
the President should review his State of the Union message he delivered and
support the David Bevard Bill voted out of the House as he promised.
Hare wants to extend unemployment benefits, give people
an opportunity to keep their health benefits and time their unemployment
benefits while they are in school and learning. ÒFormer Maytag workers who
spent time retraining for jobs, when they finished there werenÕt jobs available
and their unemployment had run out.Ó
Hare expressed disappointment that the PresidentÕs
budget he is proposing is taking even more money out of programs to assist
dislocated workers. ÒWe just canÕt throw people out on the street, let their
unemployment benefits run out and say we would like to do more but
unfortunately we canÕt.Ó The United States is spending $13 billion a month on
the war, as a conservative estimate. ÒTo tell us we donÕt have the money to put
into programs to help dislocated workers to help them retrain and find another
job. To give them unemployment compensation and extend it, give them a decent
health care plan. I canÕt think of anything more un-American than to cut
funding to these programs.Ó
Hare said, ÒThe Peru trade deal was proposed as a
small trade deal. It is pushing one and a half million farmers off their land
– that may grow something we do not want to see on our streets. We had an
estimated two million children working in the mines in Peru and in service
industry jobs.Ó Hare fought against the Peru trade deal, even with members of
his own party. Hare said to one of his members, ÒWhat am I supposed to say to
Dave Bevard and the Maytag workers when I go back to Galesburg Illinois?Ó
Congress passed a new budget out of the House and
Senate last week. The budget that passed restored the Bush cuts he proposed for
job training, putting more money into job retraining, although not as much as
Hare wanted. The bill added to programs for education, veteranÕs health care,
and dislocated workers. Hare is urging people to contact their representatives
to urge Bush to sign the bill he is threatening to veto which includes the TAA
ÒDavid Bevard Bill.Ó
ÒBush says he is going to veto the farm bill. He says
it cost too much. We tried to insure 10 million kids with S-CHIP with $6
billion dollars that we had paid for with a tax on cigarettes.Ó Hare said Bush
accused Congress of acting like teenagers with a credit card and three hours
later held a press conference asking for $160 billion in supplemental appropriations
for Iraq. ÒWe could insure 10 million children tomorrow for what it costs us
two weeks in Iraq.Ó
ÒThe Patriot CorpÓ (bill) Hare is supporting for the
next Congressional session, to help American companies compete, ÒWe can either
pay them and they get the tax breaks when they leave – which we are doing
– or we can take a company wanting to stay in this country and expand and
help with employee pensions and health care. In return, they get guaranteed
government contracts, the opportunity to purchase equipment for expansion with
tax cuts and give them incentives to stay here.Ó
When asked about the outsourcing of government defense
contracts – specifically the Air Force Tanker Contract – Hare said,
ÒI am livid and thatÕs putting it mildly. I never have believed in outsourcing
defense jobs when we are at war. When Boeing can and has made the product and
then Northrop Grumman was given special consideration, even though they had
some problems in how they secured contracts.Ó
Hare also criticized the President for presenting
budget cuts for veterans of $38 million for prosthetics and health care for
veterans we put in harms way. Congress restored the cuts.
On the issue of the Iraq War Hare says, ÒIt is going
to take 16 to 18 months to wind this war down in a safe fashion for our troops.
To have an embassy force there, that is fine. I think it is time for the Iraqi
Government to stand up so we can stand down. ItÕs got to stop.Ó