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Mr. REYNOLDS. Mr. Speaker, by direction of the Committee on Rules, I call up House Resolution 489 and ask for its immediate consideration.
The Clerk read the resolution, as follows:
H. Res. 489
Resolved, That upon adoption of this resolution it shall be in order to consider the conference report to accompany the bill (H.R. 434) to authorize a new trade and investment policy for sub-Sahara Africa. All points of order against the conference report and against its consideration are waived. The conference report shall be considered as read.
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. UPTON). The gentleman from New York (Mr. REYNOLDS) is recognized for 1 hour.
(Mr. REYNOLDS asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks, and include extraneous material.)
Mr. REYNOLDS. Mr. Speaker, for the purposes of debate only, I yield the customary 30 minutes to the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. MOAKLEY), the distinguished ranking member of the Committee on Rules, pending which I yield myself such time as I may consume. During consideration of the resolution, all time yielded is for the purpose of debate only.
Mr. Speaker, House Resolution 489 provides for consideration of the conference report to accompany H.R. 434, the Trade and Development Act of 2000. The rule waives all points of order against the conference report and its consideration. Additionally, the rule provides that the conference report shall be considered as read.
The Trade and Development Act of 2000 conference report offers opportunities for the United States to enhance trade with diverse nations in both sub-Saharan Africa and Caribbean Basin countries.
Mr. Speaker, the end of the Cold War has opened up sub-Saharan Africa to the world as never before. Only now are so many African nations able to start making the necessary reforms to become part of the global economy.
The new economic realities of sub-Saharan Africa must be met and encouraged by the United States. Indeed, improving the lives of the people in sub-Saharan Africa can best be accomplished by advancing the development of free market economies and representative democracies.
[Time: 13:30]
H.R. 434 is a vehicle for that economic and social progression.
The Trade and Development Act of 2000 will provide sub-Saharan countries with the tools needed to raise the standard of living in African nations, while simultaneously benefiting the United States by opening new trade and investment opportunities for U.S. firms and workers.
Additionally, the bill preserves the United States' commitment to the Caribbean Basin beneficiary countries by promoting growth and free enterprise and economic opportunity in these neighboring countries. By promoting economic opportunity in the Caribbean countries, the United States enhances our own national security interests.
The bill includes strict and effective customs procedures to guard against transshipment. Under a ``one strike and you are out'' provision, if an exporter is determined to have engaged in illegal transshipment of textile and apparel products from a CBI country, the President is required to deny all benefits under the bill to that exporter for a period of 2 years.
The conference report also focuses on eliminating certain human rights abuses by requiring all countries participating in trade with the United States under this bill to implement commitments to eliminate the worst forms of child labor in order to receive benefits.
There is no question that the creation of an investment-friendly environment in Africa and enhancing the Caribbean Basin will benefit all countries involved by attracting the capital needed to provide and promote the needed job creation and economic growth.
I would like to commend the gentleman from New York (Mr. GILMAN), chairman of the Committee on International Relations; the gentleman from Connecticut (Mr. GEJDENSON), the ranking member; along with the gentleman from Texas (Mr. ARCHER), the chairman of the Committee on Ways and Means; the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. CRANE), chairman of the Subcommittee on Trade; the gentleman from New York (Mr. RANGEL), the ranking member of the Committee on Ways and Means; and the gentleman from California (Mr. ROYCE), chairman of the Subcommittee on Africa.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this rule and the underlying bill.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. MOAKLEY. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from New York (Mr. REYNOLDS), my colleague and my dear friend, for yielding me the this time; and I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, this rule was only reported out of the Committee on Rules less than 3 hours ago. But because my Republican colleagues just enacted martial law, we are considering this rule the same day it was reported, without the typical two-thirds vote that is required for the same-day consideration.
It is not as if there is much activity on the House floor these days, Mr. Speaker. It is not as if we are working late into the night 6 days a week and we have to rush to finish. The real reason for the quick consideration is that this bill was so quickly put together that my Republican colleagues are worried that close analysis will prove fatal, and they are probably right.
Although this bill is hot off the presses, we have some idea what is in it; and, Mr. Speaker, so far it does not look too good. This bill includes an African trade bill that will neither help African workers nor American workers. It will allow the transfer of goods from China through Africa, goods that are made in unsafe conditions by workers who are drastically underpaid.
It will hurt the African environment by failing to put protections in the proper place. And it does nothing to provide serious debt relief to African countries, debt relief we have already granted to countries on other continents.
Mr. Speaker, this bill removes, removes some very strong provisions designed to stop the spread of AIDS in Africa, provisions that would have saved many, many lives.
But, Mr. Speaker, this bill does not stop at Africa. It includes a NAFTA expansion to the Caribbean countries, despite the problems that we are having with NAFTA in Mexico. And despite this devastating job loss and the environmental degradation that we have seen under NAFTA, this bill creates duty-free, quota-free access to American markets for textile and apparel assembled in Central America and also in the Caribbean islands. That is 24 countries which will be given unparalleled access to American markets and asked to provide nothing in return.
Mr. Speaker, by creating this access, we will be violating our agreement to treat all World Trade Organization countries the same. The last time this idea came up, it lost resoundingly. This time it is being shoved into a conference report along with a lot of other unrelated proposals that will put American garment workers at further risk of losing their jobs.
This bill contains trade favors for Albania. It offers normal trade relations to Kyrgyzstan, a country that did not even exist 10 years ago. The bill restores trade benefits for Israeli yarn. And another section of this bill, known as the ``carousel provision,'' was really written to please the banana growers and beef producers in their disputes with the European Union.
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So, Mr. Speaker, in short, this bill is like a dozen other Republican bills before it. It is a grab bag of benefits for the very rich, for the very powerful; and it hurts everyone else.
So I urge my colleagues to oppose this rule and oppose the bill.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. REYNOLDS. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from California (Mr. DREIER), the distinguished chairman of the Committee on Rules.
Mr. DREIER. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from New York (Mr. REYNOLDS) for yielding me this time.
Mr. Speaker, I would like to congratulate the House for its perspicacity in casting an overwhelming vote, 300 Members supported the last rule. And I suspect we will have a similar vote on this rule and I hope on the conference report itself. It is a very good and important piece of legislation.
We as a Nation have stood for promoting economic reform and global prosperity and leadership. And leadership is a very important quality that we need to make sure we do not in any way jeopardize. People who vote against this conference report will be undermining our future economic prosperity and undermining the very important role that we play as global leader.
When we think about the issue of trade, it is obviously a very tough one. It is tough because protectionism is an easy thing to engage in. In fact, protectionism thrives on anxiety. I find that the moment people become anxious about any issue, the response is to pull up the draw bridge and say: Oh, no, we cannot proceed with this.
The other thing that I often find when we engage in these debates is that the most strident protectionists always stand up here in the well and say: I am a free trader, but not this agreement.
Mr. Speaker, I will tell my colleagues there are things in this package about which I am not absolutely ecstatic, but I do know that when we think about those 48 nations in sub-Saharan Africa; when we think about the millions of people in the Caribbean; the 700 million people in sub-Saharan Africa; and what obviously is our top priority, when we think about that single mother here in the United States of America who is struggling to make ends meet and is going to a store to buy clothing for her children, we want to make sure that the quality of life for that single mother is enhanced. That is what this is all about.
It is a win/win/win all the way around. A win for the United States of America. It is a win for those people struggling to emerge in developing nations in sub-Saharan Africa to the economic prosperity about which they dream. And it is a win for the people in the Caribbean.
So I believe, again, that we today are going to be laying the groundwork with this vote for an even more important vote that will take place the week of May 22 when we decide whether or not the United States of America is going to maintain its role as the paramount global leader, or whether or not we are going to cede that to other countries throughout the world.
So, I compliment, again, the gentleman from California (Mr. ROYCE), the gentleman from New York (Mr. RANGEL), the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. CRANE), and so many others who have been involved in fashioning this very important piece of legislation; and I urge support of the rule and the conference report itself.
Mr. MOAKLEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from New York (Mr. RANGEL), the ranking member of the Committee on Ways and Means and the author of this African trade bill.
(Mr. RANGEL asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)
Mr. RANGEL. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. MOAKLEY) for yielding me this time.
Mr. Speaker, for those that have problems with how the bill is being expedited or the process in which the conference was held, I sure can understand those criticisms. The reason that I support the rule and support the underlying bills is because of the long wait it has taken even for this country to recognize that we should have equity in dealing with people of color in the Caribbean, in Africa. And in Africa, we never had any open agreement at all.
For those who are against trade, for those who said I feel the same way about NAFTA and will vote against China, and feel the same way about the Caribbean and Africa, I can understand that. But for those people who say that we did not do enough for Africa, I ask why do you not ask the 48 African leaders and trade ministers that have been begging for these types of encouragement for investment so that they can get out of poverty and have disposable income and can become truly partners with the United States of America.
For those who say that outsiders and rich people are the ones that are going to benefit, while they are there looking at the sand and enjoying the sun in the Caribbean, they should also see the poverty. Those people want to have more than just tourism. They want to be anchored in commerce. We can do it. We promised. We got agreements with the people in the Caribbean. They were undercut when we gave a better deal to Mexico. It is called the Caribbean Basin Initiative Parity Bill. Just make it equal with what we have given to Mexico so that we do not take away what is given to them.
So my colleagues may not like the procedure. We waited a long time. I do not know when this would come back if we did not have the bill here now. I know one thing, I feel more secure in arguing the merits of these two bills now than I would if we mixed it up with arguing the bill as to whether or not we should give permanent trade recognition to China.
Mr. REYNOLDS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. ROYCE), the chair of the Subcommittee on Africa of the Committee on International Relations, and an integral part of making this legislation the crafted conference report that is before us.
Mr. ROYCE. Mr. Speaker, I am one of the cosponsors of this legislation, along with the gentleman from New York (Mr. RANGEL) and the gentleman from Washington (Mr. MCDERMOTT) and the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. CRANE).
Let me just say that I think that this bipartisan legislation, frankly, will not solve all of Africa's problems, but it is a big step in the right direction. It will help Africa. It will help the United States.
Mr. Speaker, what this bill will do is to grant greater access to the U.S. market to those African countries that are lowering barriers to American goods and investment, that are lowering their tariffs, that are reducing their red tape, that are promoting private property rights.
This legislation, in other words, treats trade as a two-way street between the African subcontinent and the United States. And this is why the African Growth and Opportunity Act has received such strong support from American exporters, particularly those already in Africa and aware of the many opportunities.
America's exports to Africa total some $6 billion per year, but we at this point are less than 5 percent of that market. U.S. trade with Africa, which is greater than our trade with Eastern Europe, which is greater than our trade with Russia, supports 100,000 American jobs now. Passage of this bill would likely shift to Africa textile and apparel orders currently being filled by China and other Asian producers. This means that the African Growth and Opportunity Act bears no threat to American jobs.
While modest from the American perspective, this bill promises tangible benefits as well as a psychological boost to African countries wanting to become economic partners with the United States. Realistically, the U.S. could not isolate itself from a 21st-century Africa suffering from war or environmental degradation or terrorism and drug trafficking.
[Time: 13:45]
Increasing economic opportunities for Africans is an antidote to this scenario, translating into improved educational and health services, better environmental protections, and greater social stability. I recall President Museveni saying the only way we are going to increase the tax base here is by moving toward free enterprise. That
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Africa, much of Africa, frankly, is in dire economic straits. But, fortunately, a number of African countries have changed course. They have liberalized their economies by lifting restrictions and reducing taxes on commercial activity, permitting private ownership of assets, and becoming more welcoming of foreign investment.
This bill's passage and that of the Caribbean Basin Initiative that is now part of this bill would demonstrate that the world's most powerful economy has serious interests in Africa's economic development. This is a win for the United States. It is a win for Africa. I urge an ``aye'' vote on this rule and on final passage of the bill.
Mr. MOAKLEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. WYNN).
Mr. WYNN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Massachusetts for yielding me the time.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today to support the underlying bill. I, like many of my colleagues, am not exactly enamored by the procedural pass that brought us to this point, but I think the underlying bill has tremendous merit; and, therefore, we should move forward.
This is an opportunity for us to chart a transition path from providing economic assistance to providing trade assistance to Africa, to help Africa move from economic dependence to economic self-reliance by providing a modest, and it is not a big step, but it is the right step, a modest improvement in our trade relations, modest trade opportunities for Africa.
We are going to enable them to add many of their own concerns. It goes without saying this is a regional world that has been struck by both tremendous droughts and economic hardships as well as the health problems associated with the AIDS epidemic. They need help. This bill will help them help themselves.
This is also an opportunity for the United States because we are not talking about international welfare. We are talking about benefiting the United States as well. This is a market of 700 million people in sub-Saharan Africa. To the extent that they are able to generate an engine of economic growth on their own soil, it creates opportunities and jobs for Americans. We need to pursue this specific course.
Now, my colleagues will hear people talk about transshipment and the fact that Asian countries will merely use this as a means to evade existing trade regulations and restrictions. Not true. This bill contains very tough and stringent protections against transshipment. It is movement in a right direction in another front, and that has to do with workers' rights.
In fact, unlike the China bill that we will be spending a lot of time on, this bill puts a lot of emphasis on the importance of workers' rights: The right of association, the right to organize and bargain, the right to be free of compulsory and forced labor, and minimum wage standards, things that we believe in this country, workers' rights, are an integral part of this bill. So it is a good bill on that ground.
Finally, I would like to comment on the Caribbean Basin Initiative parity because it is a question of parity. It seems to me that the Caribbean nations ought to have the same parity, be on the same economic footing as Mexico. It is not a perfect arrangement, but certainly if it is an imperfect arrangement that works for Mexico, it ought to be an imperfect arrangement that works for the Caribbean countries.
Again, we are in a situation where we are trying to help countries who are poor, considered ``Third World countries'' move forward in a noble economy. Certainly the Caribbean initiative provisions of this bill makes sense on those grounds.
So at the end of the day what we have is a bill that is not a giant step, but is a correct step that we ought to take to improve conditions in poor Third World countries by providing them trade opportunities. I believe we ought to vote for this bill, and I strongly support it.
Mr. REYNOLDS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. KOLBE).
Mr. KOLBE. Mr. Chairman, this is an historic day. Today we are sending a message to the nations of sub-Saharan Africa and to our partners in Central America and the Caribbean. Today we open our arms and embrace those nations in a new partnership, the hallmarks of which are economic freedom, growth, and opportunity.
By passing this legislation, we renew the hope of prosperity for millions of impoverished souls throughout the world. Under the leadership of the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. CRANE), the gentleman from Texas (Mr. ARCHER), the gentleman from New York (Mr. RANGEL), the gentleman from California (Mr. ROYCE), the gentleman from Washington (Mr. MCDERMOTT), the gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. JEFFERSON) among many, we have successfully sailed through some dangerous holes to bring forth a balanced bill with substantial benefits for some of the poorest Nations in the world.
The people of these Nations have been wracked by civil war, by ethnic conflict, by economic stagnation, every type of natural disaster that is known. We all know this is true. When tragedy occurs, we know that Americans respond generously.
But today, for the first time, we are doing something more. We are knocking down quotas to the poor. We are taking active steps to help build the strong economies and vibrant civil societies needed to overcome instability, poverty, repression.
As we enter the 21st century, we must do all we can to bring stability and growth to those parts of the world too often left behind in the economic miracle that free markets and globalism have brought elsewhere.
By passing this legislation, we are opening the door to the future. We are giving hope to those who seek jobs, those who seek a better life, those who seek freedom. In my mind, there can be no greater gift we can give.
I urge my colleagues to join with us today, help these Nations and these people to help themselves, and vote ``yes'' on H.R. 434. Let us keep the light of hope alive.
Mr. MOAKLEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. JACKSON-LEE).
(Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas asked and was given permission to revise and extend her remarks.)
Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. MOAKLEY), the ranking member of the Committee on Rules for yielding me this time, and I thank those who have had the vision to bring this series of legislative initiatives to the floor.
It was 1997 that I had the pleasure of joining the gentleman from New York (Mr. RANGEL), the ranking member of the Committee on Ways and Means, and I thank his committee and the leadership of the committee, to go to Africa and look leaders of respective African Nations in the eye and tell them distinctly and directly that we, too, in America are friends of Africa. We, too, in America recognize that Africa supports the rule of law, that Africa recognizes the importance of appropriations and foreign assistance, but they also recognize the value and importance of what they have to offer on the international trade stage.
Africa is a Nation or a continent with 53 Nations of 700 million plus consumers and as well exporters. They are friends. I believe this bill, which offers to America and the continent of Africa a reasoned opportunity and a stage upon which to posture itself for the 21st century, that we can begin to exchange and interchange. We can begin to promote the very great cultural aspects of the continent as well as what we have done before with as many, many resources.
I am gratified that an amendment that I had that included the promotion of small and women-owned businesses to interact between the United States and the continent has been included. I am delighted that we also have challenged those businesses that will be doing trade with the continent to as well develop a fund that will help in the devastation of HIV/AIDS.
Am I disappointed that we did not get the vaccine language in that would have helped us? Yes. Am I disappointed that we, in fact, have not dealt with the issue of prescription drugs or HIV/AIDS? Yes.
I ask the Speaker of the House to help us move legislation dealing with the devastation of AIDS in the continent and in India and China along.
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This bill has been long in coming, not like some bills that we are getting ready to do in the month of May that has just popped up on us. This bill has been worked by the corporate community, the African continent, the nations, the presidents, the ambassadors, small businesses, medium-size businesses.
Mr. Speaker, let me say it compliments the concept of the Caribbean Basin Initiative which also includes friends of ours who have worked to bring down the devastation of drugs.
These two bills give equal footing and equal standing to friends who have long been our supporters and who have a strong nexus to this country. Why not do business with friends? Why not say to our small businesses that the culture of the Caribbean, the culture of the African continent is to do business with small- and medium-sized businesses? Why not say to the large corporations who have been benefitting through diamonds and through gold and oil and gas, why not say to them be a stakeholder in the continent and provide them with a true trade relation and real investment to help them build schools and hospitals and improve their quality of life.
This is a good bill. I ask my colleagues to support the rule, and I thank those who have been in the leadership role on this bill. Let us move forward and ensure that we develop and submit, Mr. Speaker, the friendship that is long, long overdue. I ask support for the underlying bill and the rule.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the passage of the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act Conference Report. The time has come for this historic legislation to become a reality. The legislation is good for America and it is good for Africa.
For the first time in this country's history, this Congress will have a structured framework for America to use trade and investment as an economic development tool throughout Africa and the Caribbean.
Through this legislation, the United States seeks to facilitate market-led economics in order to stimulate significant social and economic development within the countries of sub-Saharan Africa. The governments of Africa have articulated their eagerness to become fully integrated into the global marketplace, as a means of economic empowerment toward wealth creation.
I am pleased the House-Senate conference report includes amendments which I offered during last year's consideration of the House bill. The first provision encourages the development of small businesses in sub-Saharan Africa, including the promotion of trade between the small businesses in the United States and sub-Saharan Africa. This is an important victory for small business enterprises in America that are looking to expand remarkable trade opportunities in Africa.
Sixty percent of those that have died from AIDS are in sub-Saharan Africa. It is staggering number. An estimated 16 million have died since the 1980s. For these reasons, I am pleased that an additional amendment I offered was incorporated included into the conference report. The provision encourages U.S. businesses to provide assistance to sub-Saharan African nations to reduce the incidence of HIV/AIDS and consider the establishment of a Response Fund to coordinate such efforts.
This is important because HIV/AIDS has now been declared a national security threat. This provision reflects a national and international consensus that we must do everything we can to eliminate the HIV/AIDS disease.
Simply put, the bill changes how America does business with Africa. It seeks to enhance U.S.-Africa policy to increase trade, investment and economic independence. It seeks to move away from antiquated trade policies between the United States and African nations.
The passage of this bill will usher in a new era of cooperation between Americans and Africans working together as business partners. Indeed, it will provide Africa a platform to integrate more fully into the global economy.
Although this is the first such bill to specifically target the sub-Saharan Africa, the market access provisions of this bill are sensible and reasonable. The Africa trade initiative limits U.S. imports of African apparel for eight years, starting the cap at 1.5 percent of total U.S. imports and rising to 3.5 percent. This agreement is the product of meaningful negotiations over a considerable period of time. We should support this bipartisan effort.
Mr. Speaker, none of us can deny that trade and investment helped rebuild Europe after World War II. Similarly, by opening U.S. markets and encouraging receptive conditions for U.S. investments and exporters abroad, we were able to assist Asia in diversifying their export bases. As a result, they became prosperous consumers of American products. We have trade relationships with many regions of the world. The time has come to include Africa.
Elected leaders govern more than half of the sub-Saharan nations. Many sub-Saharan countries have fully embraced open government and open markets. Many are recording strong economic growth. This truly provides a wonderful opportunity to have a true trade partnership with the United States. Africa is seeking global recognition of its potential as a trading power and welcomes our cooperative role in this process.
In addition, the Caribbean portion of the trade bill provides duty-free and quota-free treatment to imports of apparel made from U.S. fabric. The 25 Caribbean Basin nations will be permitted to send a limited amount of apparel made from U.S. fabric produced in the region. This aspect of the bill will allow the countries of Central America and the Caribbean to compete effectively in the global economy. I should not hasten to add that this is an important part of the conference report that is also noteworthy in its own regard.
I salute my colleagues for their efforts in helping bring this reasonable compromise to fruition. With an estimated 700 million people--and consumers--the African market simply cannot be ignored. The Africa Growth and Opportunity Act Conference Report will provide the incentives for U.S. companies to create new infrastructures, projects, power plants.
I thank my colleagues and I urge them to support the conference report.
ANNOUNCEMENT BY THE SPEAKER PRO TEMPORE
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. UPTON). The gentleman will suspend. The Chair notes the disturbance in the gallery in contravention of the laws and the rules of the House.
The Sergeant At Arms will remove those persons responsible for the disturbance and restore order to the gallery.
Mr. REYNOLDS. Mr. Speaker, I reserve my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair would note that both sides have 18 minutes remaining.
Mr. MOAKLEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. ROEMER).
(Mr. ROEMER asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)
Mr. ROEMER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today, not as a free trader, but as a fair trader in support of this agreement for the United States, for Africa, and for the Caribbean nations. I did so for three simple reasons. First of all, because, with the 48 Nations of sub-Saharan Africa, all united behind this, we now do more trade with those 48 Nations in sub-Saharan Africa than we do with all the former Soviet Union block nations combined. So it benefits the United States.
Secondly, as a fair trader, I am concerned about trade deficits and trying to get trade surpluses. Before 1984, we had a trade deficit with the Caribbean nations. Today in the year 2000, the United States of America has a $2 billion trade surplus with the Caribbean nations, and this will further benefit that surplus with fair trade.
Thirdly, I support this because there are 700 million to 800 million people in sub-Saharan Africa that can buy U.S.-made products. That means this agreement will support our goods made in our factories by our workers and support our jobs.
So I think, Mr. Speaker, this is a good fair trade agreement, opening up trade opportunities, doing more to increase our trade surplus and providing American jobs.
Finally, the principal architect, a hero of mine, the Reverend Leon Sullivan, the architect of the Sullivan Principles in South Africa supports this trade agreement. He said in the speech at the University of Notre Dame, let us give, and I paraphrase, give a hand. Let us give a hand, not with a hammer, but for a carrot, to help other nations. But primarily let us help our jobs right here in America support free trade, support fair trade, support this agreement.
Mr. REYNOLDS. Mr. Speaker, I continue to reserve my time.
Mr. MOAKLEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Oregon (Mr. BLUMENAUER).
Mr. BLUMENAUER. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the courtesy of the gentleman from Massachusetts.
Mr. Speaker, as an American and a Member of Congress, I am troubled by
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I commend the leadership of the gentleman from New York (Mr. RANGEL), the gentleman from Texas (Mr. ARCHER), the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. CRANE), the gentleman from Washington (Mr. MCDERMOTT), and the gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. JEFFERSON). There are a number of heroes on both sides of the aisle moving this legislation forward. They are concerned and have focused, not on the areas of the greatest wealth, but on the areas of the greatest need.
[Time: 14:00]
This bill will have negligible effect on American industries, as trade with sub-Saharan Africa represents only 1 percent of total United States exports and imports; and most of these were oil and natural resources. However, this bill holds a huge potential upside for American involvement, opportunity and engagement in countries that have struggled for decades to overcome poverty.
The African Growth and Opportunity Act directs the creation of the United States sub-Saharan Africa Free Trade Area, which will increase trade between the United States and African countries. It also carries with it powerful incentives for countries to fully comply with international labor and transshipment standards.
Mr. Speaker, Africa is at a critical turning point in its social and economic development. More than half the countries in sub-Saharan Africa today are now governed by elected leaders.
This bill will provide much-needed economic growth and help all African countries to raise their living standards. This bill will aid those democratic governments by providing a solid foundation on which they can build for the future.
Our Nation's ability or perhaps our will to provide direct economic aide to Africa is limited; and this bill, however, in the long run is a better alternative to those options. There is no real short cut to prosperity and democratic society. Free markets and economic activity are the key.
This bill allows us to directly participate with and help strengthen these African and Caribbean Basin countries through global trade.
I believe it will ultimately be the best long-term investment for the American taxpayer. I urge my colleagues to support the rule and the conference report.
Mr. MOAKLEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from Michigan (Ms. KILPATRICK).
(Ms. KILPATRICK asked and was given permission to revise and extend her remarks.)
Ms. KILPATRICK. Mr. Speaker, today is a great day. As my colleagues will remember in the 105th Congress, this House did pass this bill. The Senate did not. I am happy that in the 106th Congress the Senate and the House has now acted on the African Growth bill, and I commend the gentleman from Illinois (Chairman CRANE), the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. DINGELL), the gentleman from New York (Mr. RANGEL), and the other leaders for making sure that this is brought to the House floor.
We all are a bit disturbed about the process that it did move quickly; but if my colleagues will remember, it has been on the House calendar in some form over the last couple of years. I was a cosponsor then, and I am a cosponsor today of both the African Growth bill and the Caribbean Initiative bill.
It is time. And I applaud this Congress and its leadership for making it a reality and bringing it to the House floor. I visited Africa on several occasions, as many of my Members know, many of us have. It is trade that our countries need so the children can prosper in those countries, so that the families can take care of themselves, and so that, again, we grow American's jobs on this side of the Atlantic.
Mr. Speaker, over 300,000 jobs will be created with the signing of this law in our country. Many more children in Africa and in the Caribbean nations will find housing, health care, education services that they do not now have because of the stimulation of the business opportunities that this bill will provide.
It is a wonderful opportunity to grow not only in this country, not only to satisfy and fortify our own communities and grow businesses, but to do the same across the Atlantic and in the Caribbean.
I applaud the leadership. It is the right step to take. The bill, the underlying bill must be passed. I urge my colleagues to pass the rule. Yes, we could have spend more time on it, but pass the rule and then vote for the underlying bill.
Mr. REYNOLDS. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. MOAKLEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. OLVER), a member from the Committee on Appropriations.
Mr. OLVER. Mr. Speaker, everyone here recognizes that sustained economic development in sub-Saharan Africa depends upon successful trade with and foreign assistance to sub-Saharan Africa, but there is a crisis in sub-Saharan Africa. The HIV/AIDS epidemic in sub-Saharan Africa now has close to 30 million men, women and children testing positive with HIV/AIDS.
Mr. Speaker, the HIV/AIDS crisis threatens the whole workforce in sub-Saharan Africa. Mr. Speaker, to have a successful trading relationship with sub-Saharan Africa, it requires urgent and expedited action to meet the HIV/AIDS crisis.
Less than 10 months ago when we debated this bill, the House added language, which I am very pleased that was added, to place emphasis on that, that addressing the HIV/AIDS crisis must be a major component of our foreign policy in all of Africa; that significant progress in preventing and treating HIV/AIDS is necessary to sustain a mutually-beneficial trade arrangement there; and that that HIV/AIDS crisis is a global threat that merits further attention through expanded public, private, and joint efforts and through appropriate American legislation. And, as I say, I am very pleased that that language was retained.
When the bill went to the other side of the Capitol, language that strengthened the capacity for individual countries to have the ability to negotiate and determine the availability of pharmaceuticals and health care for their citizens and, particularly, with respect to the HIV/AIDS epidemic was added, and that language unfortunately has been lost from the legislation.
Mr. Speaker, some 50 Members of the House supported that language and asked that it be retained. I am very disappointed that the language is not there, because it would have greatly expanded our capacity to deal with AIDS in Africa, which dealing with that is critical if there is to be a beneficial trading relationship.
Mr. Speaker, I do intend, in spite of the disappointment that we have lost that strengthening language, the weakening of the bill in the conference, to support the bill and the conference report today. I simply want to remind my colleagues that as a sense of Congress we did recognize a year ago that the HIV/AIDS crisis in sub-Sahara Africa is a global threat and that we must greatly expand public, private, and joint public-private efforts through and beyond legislation passed by this House.
Mr. MOAKLEY. Mr. Speaker, how much time is remaining?
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. UPTON). The gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. MOAKLEY) has 9 minutes remaining, and the gentleman from New York (Mr. REYNOLDS) has 18 minutes remaining.
Mr. MOAKLEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. DOOLEY).
Mr. DOOLEY of California. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this conference report.
For the past decade, the United States has been an island of economic prosperity. We have seen the greatest amount of job creation, the greatest growth in our GDP, and we have seen real wages growing twice the rate of inflation. Times do not get much better than this.
When we are in this time of economic prosperity, it is important for this country to reach out with a policy of economic engagement with many countries throughout the world who are struggling. The bill we are voting on today is clearly that policy.
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We are reaching out to our neighbors in the Caribbean Basin, we are reaching out to some countries and citizens of the world who are being left behind in sub-Sahara Africa. It is this policy of economic engagement which offers them some hope.
I had the chance to visit Africa late last year, and it was distressing to see the human conditions in Africa and sub-Sahara Africa. In almost every country in Africa and sub-Sahara Africa, with the exception of one, their average life expectancy is declining because of the ravages of AIDS.
When we see average per capita GDP, annual per capita GDP that is only a few hundred dollars a year, we can understand the quality of life these folks are being denied. The policy we are voting on today is one which is going to be an improvement in that. We are going to be engaging economically, which is going to help to accelerate and enhance the development of their economy and improve their standard of living.
I would say, though, I think we came up short. We should have done more in terms of Africa, and I would also even say in the Caribbean nation initiative. It is time for us to set aside a failed policy of isolating Cuba for the last 40 years and welcome them in as we do every other Caribbean basin. It is time for us to embrace a policy of economic engagement with Cuba, as we are doing in Africa, as we are doing in China, as we are doing in Vietnam; and we will make greater progress in all those areas with advancing not only the economic interests of the working men and women in this country but advancing the cause of human rights and democracy throughout the world.
Mr. MOAKLEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Ohio (Mrs. JONES).
(Mrs. JONES of Ohio asked and was given permission to revise and extend her remarks.)
Mrs. JONES of Ohio. Mr. Speaker, I rise this afternoon in support of H.R. 434.
I come from the State of Ohio, the great State of Ohio, the city of Cleveland; and I am proud to rise in support of this piece of legislation. It is time that we allow the African countries, sub-Saharan, and Caribbean countries the opportunity to engage in trade with our own country.
Now is the time, when our country enjoys a strong economy. Now is the time, as we open our global markets to others that we open it to Africa and the Caribbean. Now is the time, when our children travel across the world, and I think about my son Mervyn, who is 16 years old, who has been to South Africa and had a chance to ride along the Zambezi River, to visit Victoria Falls, for us to engage in a trade opportunity for Africa. Now is the time, because our children, as we think about our country and we say we are diverse and the color of the faces are black and brown and yellow and red and white, that our children have the opportunity to engage in business with those who are black and brown and yellow and white as well.
But, more importantly, now is the time, since we have had the opportunity to vacation in the Caribbean, to go on safaris in Africa, to enjoy the fruits of all of their labor, that we give them an opportunity to enjoy the trade that can come about as a result of trade agreements with Africa and this country and the Caribbean and this country. Now is the time. We cannot wait.
As our economy is strong, and everyone is willing to open their doors, let us say to Africa, let us say to the Caribbean, we are ready. We have been doing all these other things together, but now is the time to engage in a real trade agreement.
I thank the gentleman for the opportunity to be heard, and I ask my colleagues to support the rule and the underlying bill.
Mr. MOAKLEY. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. REYNOLDS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume to close.
We have had an opportunity to bring before this House two rules that really bring the bottom line, and that is that the will of the House in its last vote said, at 301 to 114, let us move through consideration of the rule today and, ultimately, let us get under way with the debate of this legislation.
So as we look at where we are, we have Republicans and Democrats, liberals and conservatives, rural and urban America coming together in this House to put together legislation that has taken a great deal of time. All of the authors deserve a great deal of credit. The next hour of debate will finalize the debate on this legislation, and I urge passage of this rule.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time, and I move the previous question on the resolution.
The previous question was ordered.
The resolution was agreed to.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
[Time: 14:15]
Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Speaker, pursuant to House Resolution 489, I call up the conference report on the bill (H.R. 434) to authorize a new trade and investment policy for sub-Sahara Africa, and ask for its immediate consideration.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. UPTON). Pursuant to House Resolution 489, the conference report is considered as having been read.
(For conference report and statement, see prior proceedings of the House of today.)
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from New York (Mr. GILMAN) and the gentleman from Connecticut (Mr. GEJDENSON) each will control 30 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from New York (Mr. GILMAN).
Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that the time for debate on this conference report be equally divided among and controlled by the chairman and ranking minority members of the Committee on International Relations and the Committee on Ways and Means.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the gentleman from New York?
There was no objection.
GENERAL LEAVE
Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks on the conference report now pending.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the gentleman from New York?
There was no objection.
Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that at the close of my remarks the balance of my time be yielded to the gentleman from California (Mr. ROYCE), the chairman of the Subcommittee on Africa, and that he be permitted to yield that time to other Members.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the gentleman from New York?
There was no objection.
Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
(Mr. GILMAN asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)
Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of the conference report on the Trade and Development Act of 2000, H.R. 434, which expands trade and investment with the countries of sub-Saharan Africa and the Caribbean.
First reported out of the Committee on International Relations in February of last year, it was then approved by the House on July 16 on a vote of 234-163.
I take pleasure in joining the gentleman from Connecticut (Mr. GEJDENSON); the gentleman from California (Mr. ROYCE), the subcommittee chairman; the gentleman from Texas (Chairman ARCHER) of the Committee on Ways and Means; and the gentleman from New York (Mr. RANGEL), the ranking member of that committee, in supporting this measure, the first major trade bill that we will be sending to the President since Congress approved U.S. participation in the World Trade Organization.
While I would have preferred more public debate and a slower, more orderly process than the one being used to bring this legislation to the House floor today, it is important to our national interests that this measure be enacted to meet the long-term development needs of the sub-Saharan African region and to put our overall relationship with those countries on a solid, long-term foundation.
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The Committee on International Relations has taken a leading role regarding the investment and development aspects of this bill. I am pleased that agreement has now been reached with the Senate on how we can best promote the activities of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation and the Export-Import Bank in sub-Saharan Africa and that we can ensure the full participation of all of those nations which have taken steps to reform their economies and to promote private sector activities.
The trade provisions in this measure, Mr. Speaker, have only recently been finalized, and I will let the gentleman from Texas (Chairman ARCHER) and the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. CRANE), the subcommittee chairman, fully explain those provisions.
I would only observe that very careful monitoring and oversight will be needed by the Congress to make certain that preferential trade treatment for apparel imports from the Caribbean does not further displace our American workers.
And toward this same goal, I will work with my colleagues on the Committee on Ways and Means to make certain that before any benefit is granted under this act a beneficiary country is enforcing all the relevant standards of the International Labor Organization's Convention for the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labor.
This conference report is, however, worthy of the support of my colleagues insofar as it provides essential support to many African nations who are only now starting to make the economic reforms that are so sorely needed for them to become part of the global economy. Barriers to foreign investment are coming down, and investor-friendly laws are being written.
It is my understanding that two-thirds of the African nations have adopted significant macroeconomic policy reforms. Enactment of this measure will make certain that trade and investment will grow between us and that these reforms can be enhanced and protected.
In brief, this measure encourages trade, not aid. It will bolster American economies. It will minimize the need for humanitarian and disaster assistance and will stimulate the private sector throughout sub-Saharan Africa.
In the final hours of the conference proceedings, a number of Senate amendments were dropped, including an AIDS drugs provision, trade adjustment assistance for farmers, and the provision regarding sugar imports.
On the other hand, I am pleased that a number of issues in contention between the two bodies were retained, including a provision regarding the so-called carousel retaliation trade provision, a special agriculture negotiator in the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, as well as a provision that retains the preferential trade rights of firms in Israel to ship their products into the U.S. through CBI eligible countries.
In sum, Mr. Speaker, this bill is good for us, for our neighbors, and for our friends in Africa. Our Nation is the largest recipient of Africa's exports but is only the fifth largest exporter to Africa. Enactment of this measure will help to make certain that the new economic realities of Africa are going to be reflected in a new U.S. Government approach to that continent.
In the words of the dean of the African diplomatic community, ``This legislation is designed to help African countries gradually shift from dependence on foreign assistance to an approach based more on the private sector and market initiatives. The vast majority of African countries have undertaken political and economic reforms on their own in recent years. As such,'' the dean stated, ``this bill merely continues an approach that has been initiated by Africans themselves.''
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. GEJDENSON. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that my time be controlled by the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. PAYNE), who has done so much in this area and so many others in our committee.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the gentleman from Connecticut?
There was no objection.
Mr. GEJDENSON. Mr. Speaker, I would also like to commend the gentleman from New York (Mr. GILMAN), the chairman of my committee; the gentleman from California (Mr. ROYCE), the subcommittee chairman; the gentleman from Texas (Mr. ARCHER); the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. CRANE); the gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. JEFFERSON); the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. LEVIN); and the gentleman from Washington (Mr. MCDERMOTT), but particularly the gentleman from New York (Mr. RANGEL) who has played such an enormous role in this effort and has been particularly, I think, focused on the needs of every Member.
We all represent districts with our own issues before us. The gentleman from New York (Mr. RANGEL) has done an incredible job pulling this bill through. He has also paid attention to the rank and file Members on both sides of the aisle, and I want to express publicly my appreciation for him and for what his staff has done.
America has led the world in so many areas, but for lots of reasons historically we have failed to do what we have to do in Africa.
America responded proudly in Kosovo and other places, in former Yugoslavia. But in Africa, 600,000 to 800,000 people in almost a blink of an eye were annihilated in Africa without any response.
Maybe we were waiting for the colonial powers to take the lead as they have claimed they would take for so long. And maybe it was because we did not have a NATO and other assets to respond to. But we are running out of excuses. And this is a very important, maybe not as large a step as many of us had hoped for, but this is a very important step of America for fulfilling its leadership globally.
The almost half a billion people who live in sub-Saharan Africa live in some of the most difficult circumstances on our planet. It is irresponsible for us to spend so much time on almost every other continent and not face up to the realities from health care, from war, from economic deprivation that occur in Africa.
Today we take one small step. Because we all live on this planet, we all share the same inner-human responsibilities. I am proud to have played a very small role in this effort.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. CRANE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I am pleased that the House today is considering the conference agreement on H.R. 434, the Trade and Development Act of 2000.
This legislation represents the culmination of better than 5 years of bipartisan work to strengthen U.S. trade relations with the sub-Saharan African countries and with our Caribbean Basin neighbors.
Sub-Saharan Africa is home to more than 10 percent of the world's population, and yet it has undergone, while a quiet and persistent evolution towards democracy and free markets, it is still de minimus virtually in terms of its access to our market and our exports to South Africa.
It provides a whale of an opportunity, over 700 million population in 48 countries. Twenty-six of those 48 countries, incidentally, have held democratic elections, and 31 of them have embarked on significant economic reforms.
Our conference agreement encourages the development of an African textile and apparel industry and regional integration through the provision of duty-free and quota-free treatment of up to 3.5 percent of the U.S. apparel imports over the 8 years of the bill for apparel articles wholly assembled in Africa and from regional fabric or fabric from any country in the case of lesser developed countries.
As the sponsor of the African Growth and Opportunity Act in the House, I believe that its enactment will establish sub-Saharan Africa as a priority in U.S. trade policy but, more importantly, will encourage countries in that region to redouble their economic and political reforms.
The first piece of legislation that I introduced when I became chairman of the trade subcommittee back in 1995 was the Caribbean Basin Trade Partnership Act, and that is an essential component of this package, too.
I think we are all aware now that when we passed NAFTA, while it was a
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In 1983, Ronald Reagan was the one that provided the initiative to try to give those Caribbean countries the opportunity for economic access here, and it was with the objective that if we promote that kind of economic growth and development, it helps to advance democratic institutions. And it worked. It was absolutely correct.
But we did, with NAFTA, we did handicap our Caribbean trading partners. Purchasing about 70 percent of their imports from the U.S., or roughly $18.5 billion annually, the Caribbean Basin countries already represent a larger export market for U.S. goods than all of China, with one-fifth of the world's population.
We are following through on our commitment to CBI region to make up for the disruptions those countries have experienced under NAFTA and also as a result of the devastating hurricanes that they suffered.
In the end, we are going to be successful in moving forward on trade when we hit this good, solid, bipartisan stride. And it is so pleasing, because Republicans cannot claim the highest priority with regard to the commitment of free trade, it was Democrats that historically were the free traders until after World War II, and Republicans were the protectionists who started lifting the blinders after World War II.
But we do have good bipartisan support and it is advancing American interests and it is in the interest of Republicans, Democrats, Independents, all of us combined.
I cannot thank my good colleagues on both sides of the aisle enough. I am talking specifically of my distinguished ranking minority member on the committee, the gentleman from New York (Mr. RANGEL); but the gentleman from Washington (Mr. MCDERMOTT); the gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. JEFFERSON); and on our side, the gentleman from California (Mr. ROYCE); the gentleman from New York (Mr. GILMAN); the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. KOLBE); the gentleman from Texas (Mr. ARCHER); and especially the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. HASTERT), our Speaker.
We have moved our country forward into a new, more peaceful and secure relationship with neighboring countries in this hemisphere and with nations in Africa, and many of whom are facing enormous obstacles to a better life. But they are headed in the right direction with the advancement of this legislation.
I urge all of my colleagues to cast an aye vote.
The first piece of legislation I introduced when I became Chairman of the Trade Subcommittee in 1995, the Caribbean Basin Trade Partnership Act, is an essential element of this package. This bill is aimed at promoting sustainable, trade solutions to the problems facing poor nations on our hemisphere.
When Congress implemented NAFTA in 1994, there was the totally unintentional result that the CBI region was put at a disadvantage with respect to Mexico, particularly in the all-important textile and apparel sector, where Mexico began siphoning off business and investment from our CBI neighbors.
Purchasing about 70 percent of their imports from the United States, or about $18.5 billion annually, Caribbean Basin countries already represent a larger export market for U.S. goods and services than China! H.R. 984 will accelerate the growth in U.S. exports to CBI countries by building on the highly successful Caribbean Basin Initiative, which has tripled exports to the region since it was passed in 1983.
Economic dislocation and distress in these small countries on our borders means only one thing for U.S. cities and towns--declining export markets, mounting illegal immigration and intensified drug trafficking. The United States has poured $19 billion in foreign assistance into the Caribbean Basin region since 1980, in order to stem the forces of Civil War and political instability in our own backyard.
We are following through on our commitment to CBI region to make up for the disruptions these countries experienced under NAFTA and as a result of devastating hurricanes.
In the end House conferees came to a meeting of minds with our Senate colleagues who had pushed for years for a protectionist, U.S. fabric only bill. While the House would have favored uniform rules for trade in North America, consistent with the NAFTA agreement, the bill does vary from this model. But our core objective of promoting trade expansion and helping to create a dynamic market in the CBI for U.S. exports was preserved. The bill looks toward the day when we can embark on mutually advantageous free trade agreements with these countries.
It is my firm belief that the couple of isolated, protectionist rules insisted on by my Senate colleagues in order to have a bill will not stand the test of time. When the initial success of this bill begins to be felt, and the large scale export opportunities for U.S. industry and workers become obvious, we will back asking for your support to go further. But this is a good start and at the same time Members can be assured we're not opening up any flood gates.
I am convinced this bill will lay the ground work for returning to an ambitious trade policy under a new President who can help us bridge our differences in the House on trade negotiating authority.
For in the end, we are only successful moving forward on trade when we hit a bipartisan stride. And as I look across the aisle at my good friends CHARLIE RANGEL, BILL JEFFERSON, and JIM MCDERMOTT, and on this side to ED ROYCE and JIM KOLBE, I want to say we put together a historic coalition on this one. Speaker HASTERT played a key role.
We've moved our country forward, into a new, more peaceful and secure relationship with neighboring countries in this hemisphere and with nations in Africa, many of whom are facing enormous obstacles to a better life.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. RANGEL. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I was listening to my friend, the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. CRANE), and I am reminded that not only was this a bipartisan issue in this session of the Congress, but at first hearings that we had, Speaker Newt Gingrich testified with Jack Kemp and Andrew Young and Leon Sullivan and so many people came, fine Americans, Republicans and Democrats and liberals and conservatives, in support of opening up trade relationships with Africa.
It must make all of us feel proud today, as Members of the Congress, to be able to say that we were part of this initiative so that these smaller countries that are striving for better democracies, for improvement in the quality of health and education of their children, that have met with famine and drought, that know and see and face poverty and disease, that America is not treating them just as a basket case but reaching out and trying to transfer technology, create an atmosphere for investment, and to be able to say, commercially speaking, that we treat each other with the mutual respect that is so necessary for great nations, big or small, to work together for their constituencies and, indeed, for a better world.
[Time: 14:30]
To have this coupled with the Caribbean Basin bill, that it was Ronald Reagan, as the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. CRANE) pointed out, that worked with Democrats to fashion a package so that we would not just consider the Caribbean as a bunch of just exciting songs but that we could see that these were people with struggling democracies that were throwing off the yoke of colonialism, that they wanted so badly to be treated with respect from their giant sister nation, the United States of America, and as a result of this to be able to see the industry that was starting there and the tremendous setbacks that they had as a result of us going into the North American Free Trade Agreement.
So President Clinton made a commitment that we would give them parity and Republicans and Democrats on the Committee on Ways and Means, the Committee on International Relations, working together and having Speaker HASTERT to come across the other side of the Capitol and meeting with the leader on that side, and coming together to keep this fragile package together, like most Members I wish we did not have to expedite this. I wish we had had more time with the rule. I wish we had had more time in the conference and certainly more time for Members to truly understand that they are playing a very, very important role, a historic role, in cementing the relationship that this country will have with these developing countries. I am proud to be an American, so proud to be a Member of this Congress, and proud to be working with Members on both sides of the aisle.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. ROYCE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of this conference report. Last summer, in July, the House understood the importance of doing what we can to encourage greater trade between the United States and Africa. We acted by passing this historic Africa Growth and Opportunity Act. We now have a chance to send this bill to the President's desk for his signature and open a long overdue era of new relations between the United States and Africa, one that recognizes the strong economic potential of a continent of 800 million people.
What this bill does is to build a partnership between America and those African nations which are committed to reforming their economies in a way that allows for America to sell more goods and services. In short, this legislation treats trade as a two-way street. Already the United States exports some $6 billion of goods and services to Africa each year. Some 100,000 American jobs depend on this trade, which should grow under this legislation.
Few Americans probably realize that West Africa is approaching the Persian Gulf as a source of oil for the United States. This is but one example of Africa's growing economic significance to the U.S. Fortunately, many African countries have been moving toward greater economic openness over the last decade, ditching the African socialism that wreaked economic havoc. With this bill we will be encouraging this trend and trade. The trade that occurs with America should expand and should expand significantly.
I think if we can get beyond the headlines, Africa has the potential. I have seen dynamic entrepreneurs in Africa. I have seen vibrant and prosperous African businesses, businesses which want to do business with America. That is their message. They say we are tired of doing business with the Europeans. We want to do business with Americans.
Let us take advantage of that. Let us get America into the African economic game. This legislation is good for America, and it is good for Africa.
This is not as powerful a bill in some ways as we passed through the House last July. In conference, the Senate demanded additional restrictions on trade with Africa; and in my view, this is unfortunate. We would have liked trade with Africa to be regulated more by markets and less by bureaucrats, especially when we are dealing with the world's poorest continent. That would have been better for American consumers. American exporters would have been advantaged more by that and Africa would have been advantaged more by that.
This conference report is a clear and important step in the right direction toward greater trade between the United States and Africa, and it moves us away from the odd policy of giving aid to Africa with one hand and shutting out what it manages to produce with the other. Let us move Africa away from aid to economic self-sufficiency. That is the spirit of this bill.
We need to be frank. There are many Members of Congress who have worked on this legislation, and I want to thank the chairman of the Committee on International Relations, the gentleman from New York (Mr. GILMAN); as well as the Speaker of the House, the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. HASTERT); the chairman of the Committee on Ways and Means, the gentleman from Texas (Mr. ARCHER). I want to also thank my cosponsors of this legislation, the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. CRANE), the gentleman from New York (Mr. RANGEL), and the gentleman from Washington (Mr. MCDERMOTT). We want to thank the ranking member on the Subcommittee on Africa, the gentleman from New Jersey, (Mr. PAYNE) as well. We have done this work frankly with a sense of urgency, urgency because Africa is on the brink of permanent economic marginalization.
The global economy is changing in dizzying ways. Unless we help bring Africa into the world economy and do it now, Africa will never develop. It will be hopelessly left behind, and Americans are fooling themselves if we think we could ignore an undeveloped Africa in which war and disease were commonplace.
These problems have come to America already. Let us do something to help Africa help itself and help America.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. PAYNE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 434, the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act. I join with the rest of my colleagues who are original cosponsors of this bill and appreciate their support, the persons involved from the Committee on International Relations and the Committee on Ways and Means.
We have been dealing with this bill for some time. Last summer it was passed as H.R. 1432. We have been talking about this issue.
Finally, I am pleased that this initiative is finally moving through the House. As the ranking member of the Subcommittee on Africa and as a member of the Committee on Education and the Workforce, let me first assure the colleagues of mine who are concerned about labor that this bill will cause no American worker to lose their jobs. This is a bipartisan bill which the conferees have been meeting with and discussing on a regular basis.
I am pleased also to mention that certain labor standards which our committee dealt with, including the right to organize and the right to bargain collectively, the right to set minimum wages and the minimum work hour requirements, are in this bill; and so many people who felt that there would be an open end we have put in safeguards for those folks in the region.
This is a stark and exciting occasion. Today, I stand before Members to say that the Africa trade bill will improve the lives of many of the African people on the continent. Imagine that as we approach the new millennium a partnership has been forged, a partnership that is not based on dependency; but it is a partnership that possesses great opportunities for both the United States and for Africa.
I must also applaud the Africa diplomatic corps for their constant and unwavering faith, that they kept coming and standing together united as a real force. I think that they have now become an effective force here on Capitol Hill to hear the problems of sub-Sarahan Africa discussed here, and I would like to compliment them.
This bill will make improvements in the telecommunications sector, providing enhanced satellite and educational and scientific opportunities. Currently it takes an average of 4.6 years to get a phone in Africa, and almost double that time in some parts of sub-Sarahan Africa. This bill, H.R. 434, will help sub-Sarahan African countries by reinforcing the positive development taking place in Africa. Among other things, it will enhance market access for African goods and services. It will provide duty-free, quota-free benefits to apparel made in Africa from U.S. yarn; duty-free benefits to apparel made in Africa; promote multilateral debt relief for the poorest of the poor countries in Africa, the HIPC countries; open free markets which would otherwise be closed in Africa. It also directs the Overseas Private Investment Corporation, OPIC, to create a $150 million equity fund to assist in overseas private investment and also a $500 million infrastructure fund which will assist these countries in developing their infrastructure.
It increases authority and flexibility to provide assistance under the Development Fund for Africa, the DFA bill. So there are so many benefits that this bill has in it. It will continually go on, and it will move countries ahead. It also will establish a U.S.-African economic forum to facilitate annual high-level discussions about bilateral and multilateral trade opportunities. So this bill is very important.
President Clinton mentioned it in his State of the Union address in his partnership for growth and opportunity as he talked about a new era for Africa.
So as I conclude my remarks, let me just say that I become disturbed when we say that there are no national interests of the U.S. in Africa. A foreign trade policy that ignores a sub-Sarahan Africa with its many countries is really a distorted policy. This bill recognizes that U.S. trade, aid, and investment are all important foreign policy goals. The countries in sub-Sarahan Africa have joined the new World Trade Organization, and we are helping them to share its benefits and to meet their requirements. So, therefore, once again, I ask for unanimous support for this.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. CRANE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to our distinguished colleague, the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. BALLENGER).
Mr. BALLENGER. Mr. Speaker, I want today to support H.R. 434. The Caribbean Basin Initiative was proposed in 1982 by President Reagan as a way of promoting economic revitalization and trade expansion opportunities for countries in the Caribbean Basin after peace had arrived. Now, more so than ever, economic revitalization is needed, and this is particularly true of the many countries that were ravaged by Hurricanes Mitch and George a little more than a year ago.
As many of my colleagues know, my wife and I have been involved with various humanitarian and charitable activities in Central America and the Caribbean for the better part of 30 years; and during this time it has become increasingly clear to me that what these countries need most in the way of economic stabilization is investment in free trading opportunities. Providing more open trade access to our markets would not only aid the ailing economies of these countries but would help ensure greater political stability as well.
Mr. Speaker, the most controversial aspect of H.R. 434 has revolved around textiles and apparel. Being from North Carolina, these industries are particularly important to me, as are the jobs that make up these industries. My particular concern regarding this legislation has been to ensure that textiles and apparel produced in countries in Africa and the Caribbean Basin region are made of U.S. materials, if they are to receive favorable trade benefits. Without these protections, I voted against this bill last summer.
According to most textile and fiber manufacturers that I have heard from, the conference report on H.R. 434 takes necessary steps to ensure that U.S. fiber, yarn, and cotton manufacturing industries are sufficiently protected.
Mr. Speaker, I believe this bill would greatly benefit the economies of the Caribbean Basin and Africa while protecting domestic jobs, and I urge its passage.
Mr. RANGEL. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. LEVIN), the ranking member of the Subcommittee on Trade of the Committee on Ways and Means.
(Mr. LEVIN asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)
Mr. LEVIN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from New York (Mr. RANGEL) for yielding me this time and for being unyielding when it comes to this legislation, with many other colleagues, and I look at all of them.
There are core labor standards in this new preferential trade program. They are built into the structure of the generalized system of preferences, GSP. The present provisions of GSP are strengthened in the language as it applies to African nations. In order for them to receive the benefits under this bill, the U.S. executive must assess in providing benefits for any African country whether it, and I quote, ``has established or is making considerable progress towards establishing,'' end of quotes, protection of core labor standards, including the right to organize and bargain collectively, as the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. PAYNE) has mentioned.
[Time: 14:45]
As to the enhanced benefits granted under CBI, the GSP provisions are strengthened still further. As a result of an amendment in the Senate, our executive must use, in deciding whether to grant enhanced benefits to any CBI country, the same standard as applied, for example, to intellectual property rights, that is, the extent to which a nation is adhering to internationally recognized core worker rights.
Further, as not provided in the original House bill, the enhanced benefits may be eliminated or revoked in the event a country retreats in these vital areas. It is also noteworthy that added to the GSP system is the Harkin amendment, requiring that countries implement their commitments to eliminate the worst forms of child labor.
The present GSP system, and it is not well understood, I am afraid, has been used, suspending GSP benefits due to worker rights violations in Burma, Liberia, Maldives, Mauritania, Sudan, Syria and Pakistan. The benefits of four other nations have been suspended, then reinstated once labor reforms have been made. GSP has been used in the CBI region to bring about improvements in protection of core labor standards.
Some will argue, and they do most sincerely, that these provisions are not strong enough because compliance should be immediate and it should be complete. I believe that a reasonable transition period makes good sense, and there is no way to mathematically define what is complete. The executive in our country will always have some discretion, and it is up to those of us who care about this issue in the public and the private sector to vigorously pursue efforts to implement these provisions.
Today, the administration has sent a letter to several of us indicating ``a series of steps to ensure effective implementation of existing labor-related provisions of CBI, as well as of the enhanced provisions.'' Included is an important step of directing the USTR to create a new Office of Trade and Labor headed by an assistant trade representative. Mr. Speaker, I will include for the RECORD that letter.
Building labor provisions into rules of trade and competition between nations is something that I believe in passionately. It is necessarily a step-by-step activist process, tailoring those efforts to the particular circumstances at hand.
In NAFTA there were no enforcement provisions covering the commitments on core labor standards. I opposed it. In this case, importantly, as to Africa and as to CBI, there is enforcement, the power of unilateral action by the United States, whether to grant these benefits, and, if granted, whether to suspend enhanced benefits.
These are important steps forward on this vital issue, as part, and I deeply share the beliefs of the sponsors, of a necessary effort to increase trade, and, yes, competition, with African and Caribbean nations in the U.S., and to trying, and this is so important, to increase the partnership between the U.S. and these nations, always keeping in sharp focus the best interests of American workers and producers.
There has been indeed a long and diligent effort to follow that path in this legislation. It strives to expand trade and to pay attention to the expanded issues of trade. As a result, I rise in support.
THE WHITE HOUSE,
Washington, May 3, 2000.
Hon. SANDER M.
LEVIN,
House of Representatives,
Washington, DC.
DEAR REPRESENTATIVE LEVIN: Thank you for your recent letter to the President regarding the African Growth and Opportunity Act and Caribbean Basin Initiative (CBI) Enhancement legislation, H.R. 434. The Administration strongly supports enactment of this bill, which will strengthen our partnership with these two important regions and provide mutual economic benefits for years to come. We appreciate your efforts to expedite agreement on the remaining outstanding issues in the legislation, and hope Congress will conclude its work and pass a final version of the bill soon.
A closer relationship with the CBI countries should be accompanied by progress in other trade-related areas. In particular, we hope to see CBI countries make continued progress in implementing internationally-recognized worker rights, and we are prepared to undertake a series of steps to ensure effective implementation of existing labor-related provisions of CBI as well as the enhanced provisions of H.R. 434.
First, to underscore the importance of trade and labor issues and to improve policy formation and coordination with respect to them, the President is directing the United States Trade Representative (USTR), contingent upon necessary appropriations, to create a new Office of Trade and Labor. Headed by the newly-created position of Assistant United States Trade Representative for Trade and Labor, the office will be responsible for aspects of trade policy-making that involve core labor standards considerations. It will endeavor to handle these complex, interdisciplinary issues in an integrated fashion.
Second, we will work to increase the resources available to this office to fulfill its mission. In the President's FY 2001 Budget, funds were requested to hire a Labor Specialist in the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative to work on issues involving the relationship between trade and labor. A major responsibility of this staff member would be to analyze information on worker rights developed in connection with the expanded reporting described below. This information would help to form the basis, under
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Third, also as part of the FY 2001 Budget, the President requested additional resources to strengthen our capacity to monitor worker rights and working conditions overseas as well as provide capacity building assistance to countries seeking to implement and enforce core labor standards. We anticipate assigning additional labor attaches to the CBI region and Africa as part of this broader initiative to assess the institutional capacity of countries to implement core labor standards and provide them with technical assistance suited to their needs. These officers would also serve as a point of contact for the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative for the purpose of assessing compliance with the standards required to receive and maintain benefits under our trade laws.
Fourth, the President is instructing that reporting on compliance with the worker rights provisions of the GSP program be expanded. Section 504 of the Trade Act of 1974 requires the President to submit an annual report to Congress on the status of internationally-recognized worker rights within GSP beneficiary countries. It has been our practice to include this report in the State Department's annual human rights report. To give this reporting greater emphasis, the President is directing the State Department, in collaboration with the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative and the Department of Labor, to undertake an expanded analysis of the legal framework and implementation in GSP beneficiary countries of internationally-recognized worker rights, including the right of association, the right to organize and bargain collectively, the prohibition against any form of forced or compulsory labor, a minimum age for the employment of children, and acceptable working conditions.
The FY 2001 Budget includes a request for additional staff members for the Department of State and the Department of Labor for the purpose of improving reporting on worker rights conditions and, in particular, institutional capacity problems for which additional technical assistance might be appropriate. Among the issues the expanded reports could address are; whether the rights are recognized in the country's constitution laws, or regulations; whether the union registration procedures are fair and expeditious; whether there is a minimum wage law and laws or regulations governing occupational health and safety (with regard to workers generally or minors specifically), whether any persons or industries are excluded from any of these rights; whether child labor exists and what is being done to eliminate it; and what means exist for implementation and enforcement. Other issues relating to implementation that could be addressed include: the procedures for obtaining authorization to organize; the number of unions and unionized workers; whether and how workers are informed of their rights and employers of their obligations; whether and how the government assists workers to exercise their rights; whether and how the government investigates allegations of infringement of worker rights and penalizes violators; whether the government can prohibit strikes under certain conditions; and whether there are government inspections of workplaces to ensure compliance with labor laws such as those related to health and safety, minimum wages, and child labor.
Fifth, the Administration has used its authority to partially withdraw a country's GSP benefits in instances in which the country does not meet the criteria set out in 19 USC §2461 and 2462, but a complete withdrawal of benefits is not deemed appropriate. This approach has two benefits: (1) it enables the U.S. Trade Representative to focus on sectors in which there are particularly serious enforcement problems; and (2) it serves to encourage the country involved to improve its compliance by not unduly penalizing the country for its problems. The Administration intends to continue to use this approach when necessary to enforce the GSP program and promote compliance. Partial revocation can penalize sectors that have failed to meet their obligations while recognizing a government's good faith attempts to meet its commitments in general. It should also be emphasized that flexibility in this matter makes it possible to avoid unnecessarily penalizing firms that meet or exceed the standards set out for extension and maintenance of benefits. It is our expectation that with the additional reporting requirements and personnel available to handle these issues, we will have more information and greater flexibility to respond even more effectively to any problems that arise in a particular workplace, sector or country. At this time, any interested party may submit a request to the GSP Subcommittee of the Trade Policy Staff Committee that additional articles be granted GSP benefits or that GSP benefits be withdrawn, suspended or limited. Under USTR regulations, any person may request to have a country's GSP status reviewed. The information required by federal regulations will be amended specifically to include compliance with labor rights in the beneficiary country.
Finally, we stand prepared to expand our assistance to countries wishing to improve their institutional capacity to implement core labor standards. Last year, in response to the Administration's request, Congress approved $20 million for the creation of a new arm of the International Labor Organization (ILO) to provide technical assistance to countries seeking to implement the ILO's landmark Declaration of Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work. In addition, the President's $10 million request for the Department of Labor to provide technical assistance on the design and implementation of labor standards and social safety net programs in developing countries. These activities are an essential component of a larger strategy to ensure that the benefits of expanded international trade and investment are shared as broadly as possible within and among nations. We are prepared to apply a share of these resources to the development of cooperative programs with our Caribbean and African partners as a means of helping them to comply with the requirements of our trade preference programs and their ILO commitments. This year, in addition to requesting a continuation of funding for the ILO's new arm, we have proposed doubling the Department of Labor's technical assistance program from $10 million to $20 million and increasing by $100 million our efforts to eliminate abusive child labor through the ILO and direct bilateral assistance. We urge you and your colleagues to support these requests as a key part of our efforts to expand trade and investment while improving respect for worker rights around the world.
And, thank you for your letter. I hope that these thoughts are responsive to the issues you raised.
Sincerely,
John Podesta,
Chief of Staff to the President.
Mr. ROYCE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from Nebraska (Mr. BEREUTER), the distinguished vice chairman of the Committee on International Relations, who also serves as the Chairman of the Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific.
(Mr. BEREUTER asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)
Mr. BEREUTER. Mr. Speaker, this Member rises in strong support of this legislation. It consists of four core bills, all of which are incorporated here, and I am pleased and proud to be an original sponsor of those four bills.
Mr. Speaker, with regard to Africa, this Member believes that expanding trade and foreign investment in Africa is the most effective way to promote sustainable economic development on that continent. By providing African nations incentives and opportunities to compete in the global economy, and by reinforcing African nations' own efforts to institute market-oriented economic reforms, this legislation will help African countries create jobs, opportunities, and futures for their citizens. Only through trade and investment will Africans fully develop the skills, institutions, and infrastructure to successfully participate in the global marketplace and significantly raise their standard of living.
However, it is true that trade liberalization alone cannot remedy all of Africa's woes. That is why our overall strategy for sub-Saharan Africa is a combination of trade and aid working together. It those who in the past have criticized the Africa Growth and Development Act, charging it does not provide sufficient and immediate aid to Africa's poor or for protecting Africa's environment, this Member would remind those colleagues that just over a year and a half ago the Congress enacted and the President signed into law the bill entitled The Africa: Seeds of Hope bill.
This food security initiative, which this Member introduced, refocused U.S. resources on African agriculture and rural development, and is aimed at helping the 76 percent of sub-Saharan African people who are small farmers. This law, along with other current U.S. aid programs, such as the Development Fund for Africa, are the aid components of our African development strategy. With the passage of this conference report, which includes the provisions of the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act, the needed complimentary trade components of our Africa development strategy, then we will indeed have a balanced trade and aid program.
The Trade and Development Act of 2000 also includes another important trade measure promoting further sustainable economic development for America's neighbors to the south in the Caribbean Basin. The impact of the first Caribbean Basin initiative enacted in the 1980s has, indeed, been very positive. However, this earlier initiative is just the first step. Its success naturally warrants the further investment and trade expansion included in the CBI II to ensure the continuation of responsible economic growth and stability in this region so close to our southern borders.
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This conference report also authorizes the use of carousel or rotating retaliatory tariffs as a means of increasing the pressure on trade competitors and partners, like the European Union, which failed to comply with World Trade Organization rules and discriminate against American products and services. This is an important tool for the U.S. Trade Representative when addressing trade disputes involving American agriculture in particular, given that of nearly 50 complaints filed by the U.S. in the WTO, almost 30 percent involve agriculture.
This Member also supports the inclusion of H.R. 3173, the legislation that would establish the permanent position of Chief Agriculture Negotiator in the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative into this comprehensive bill. In 1997, a temporary position of U.S. Special Trade Ambassador for Agriculture was created, and it has proven to be an effective representative of America's agriculture interests in bilateral and multilateral trade negotiations. But this is a step forward, and that is important, given the impact agriculture has on our economy.
Mr. Speaker, the Trade and Development Act of 2000 is a balanced and responsible bipartisan trade initiative. I want to thank all of my colleagues on both sides of the aisle, certainly the Committee on Ways and Means people, for their contributions. In my own committee, I want to particularly focus appreciation on the gentleman from California (Mr. ROYCE), who has been unfailing, unrelenting, in moving this bill to its passage. I thank the gentleman for that special effort.
What this bill opens is a new mutually beneficial opportunity for trade and investment in Africa and in the Caribbean Basin. It also strengthens our ability to more effectively resolve unfair trade disputes. Accordingly, this Member urges his colleagues to support the conference report.
Mr. PAYNE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. BECERRA).
Mr. BECERRA. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me time.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act, H.R. 434, and its conference report.
First let me begin by acknowledging the men who made this bill possible. Certainly this is a bill that was born of sheer determination on the part of a number of individuals. Principally those that I know of, the gentleman from New York (Mr. RANGEL), who did not allow this bill to ever see anything but light; and certainly the chairman, the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. CRANE); the gentleman from Texas (Mr. ARCHER); and, of course, the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. LEVIN), who I know worked tremendously on this bill as well. I would like to applaud their effort, because for many moments many did not believe this bill would ever get to the President's desk. Certainly here we see that sheer will can get you there.
H.R. 434 left the House in a troubled state. There were legitimate concerns raised over the rights of workers, the misuse of African nations as mere stopping points in the transshipment of textiles from other countries trying to dump their products in America.
But I am very pleased to say that H.R. 434 has come to this floor prepared for signature by the President of the of the United States. The transshipment language is the best we have seen to date, the textile provisions are improved from what came out of committee, and the labor provisions certainly face us in the direction we need to be heading with all of our trade agreements.
Our partners in Africa and the Caribbean deserve to know we are serious about our partnerships with them and that we are serious about building relationships that are meaningful and that they will work in the future. They are ready in Africa and the Caribbean, they are willing, and now they are simply waiting.
Mr. Speaker, I will support this legislation because it recognizes that it is time for us to treat the African nations and the Caribbean the way we would treat some of our partners we have negotiated with for many years, and let them know we are with them in partnership, to have them advance and become solid, meaningful trading partners with America. It is time for this bill to become law. I am pleased to be able to support this legislation.
Mr. RANGEL. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. MORAN).
Mr. PAYNE. I yield 30 seconds to the gentleman from Virginia.
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. UPTON). The gentleman from Virginia is recognized for 1 1/2 minutes.
Mr. MORAN of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I thank my friends for yielding me time.
Mr. Speaker, the United States has always had a very special relationship with the continent of Africa, and, with few exceptions, it has been a relationship of exploitation. The African people, with few exceptions, were the only people who were brought to this country, who did not come to this country of their own volition. Most people did. They were brought here to be used, and, in fact, much of our agricultural economy was built on the backs of black people.
Many of the most menial jobs that the middle and upper classes in America wanted performed were performed by people that were brought here from Africa. But, despite the obstacles, many people of African descent have risen to positions of prominence and stature and leadership. Two such people are the floor managers today, the gentleman from New York (Mr. RANGEL) and the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. PAYNE), and many of our most respected colleagues. But if you listen to them, and they will tell you that what the continent of Africa needs and deserves is mutual respect. Mutual respect. They do not need paternalism and direct aid as much as they need the ability to sit down at the table with us as peers in an atmosphere of equanimity, to deal with Africa as a people and as a continent that we need as much as they need us, and that is what this bill does.
This bill establishes a trade policy with Africa that will be, yes, in our best interests, but will also enable the continent of Africa to develop its human and natural resources. This is a bill we need as a country. This is in our national interests. It should be a unanimous vote in favor of this bill.
[Time: 15:00]
Mr. PAYNE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. MILLENDER-MCDONALD).
Ms. MILLENDER-MCDONALD. Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the gentleman from New Jersey for yielding me this time.
Mr. Speaker, I rise to speak in support of H.R. 434, the African Growth and Opportunity Act. This is a great day for America; this is a great day for Africa. I am honored to say that today the vast majority of American civic, religious, and business leaders strongly support this bill. More important, all 43 nations of sub-Saharan Africa have voiced unanimous support for this bold step towards stronger economic ties between the United States and Africa.
As we speak this afternoon, Mr. Speaker, trade ministers from 13 African countries and 3 regional cooperative communities are visiting Washington to press the urgency of this bill. They are the new African leaders who will lead that continent into the global economy as equal partners with other world regions.
I am proud to say that the United States is poised not only to support them, but to build enduring partnerships between our businesses and commercial enterprises.
Africa is rich with natural resources, but its most important resource is the ingenuity and inventiveness of its people. Africa and American entrepreneurs can now partner to strengthen businesses on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean. While trade barriers have prevented Africa from strengthening its imports to the United States, American consumers purchase Kenya bags and Kente cloth from competing world regions. The African growth and Opportunity Act now will let American businesses travel to Africa to build infrastructure, expand access to technology, and make good use of its natural resources. In return, Mr. Speaker, African businesses will have access to this vast market where the sky is the limit on consumer goods.
Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank all of my colleagues who have supported this bill every mile of the way, but a special kudos to my friend, the gentleman from New York (Mr. RANGEL), and my colleague, the gentleman
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We have never suggested that this bill would be a panacea for Africa; however, it will put Africa on the road to economic growth and prosperity for its people.
Mr. CRANE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. WELLER).
Mr. WELLER. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank and commend the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. CRANE), my friend, the chairman of the Subcommittee on Trade for his good work and for yielding me some time. I also want to commend the chairman of the full committee, the gentleman from Texas (Mr. ARCHER), and the ranking Democrat, the gentleman from New York (Mr. RANGEL), for their leadership on this legislation, this bipartisan effort.
If we believe in free enterprise, if we believe in democracy, we should support this legislation. This legislation is good for America, it is good for Africa, it is good for the Caribbean, for our friends in those nations as well as our friends here at home. It is a win/win for all of us. It is an agreement between the House and Senate; it is an agreement that will increase investment in Africa and in the Caribbean, as well as increase investment here in the United States.
I would note that these statistics I think really illustrate why this initiative is so important.
Let me note that 1998, the Caribbean Basin, the nations of the Caribbean Basin represent our 6th largest export market for American goods. The United States maintains a large and growing surplus in its trade with this region. In fact, in 1998, just 2 years ago, this trade surplus was almost $3 billion, up 73 percent from the previous year. Exports to the Caribbean Basin region alone support over 400,000 American export-related jobs, creating great opportunities for businesses as well as workers in Chicago as well as the south suburbs.
I would also note that trade with Africa supports 200,000 American jobs. In 1998, U.S. exports to Africa totaled over $6.7 billion supporting those 200,000 American workers. That same year, 15 States in our Union reported exports over $100 million each to sub-Saharan African nations.
This initiative is good for Africa, it is good for the Caribbean, but most of all, it is good for American workers and American business. It deserves an aye vote; it deserves a strong bipartisan show of support.
Mr. RANGEL. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 1/2 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. STENHOLM).
(Mr. STENHOLM asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)
Mr. STENHOLM. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of this legislation today.
From an agricultural perspective, the Carousel Retaliation provision will strengthen the enforcement mechanisms in the WTO dispute resolutions, such as the recent beef hormone and banana disputes. The achievement of permanent status for the U.S. Trade Representative agricultural ambassador so that agriculture will remain high on USTR's agenda is a very positive aspect of this legislation.
From a textile standpoint, one of the controversies that has been worked out, it is now supported by the National Cotton Council, the American Apparel Manufacturers Association, the National Retailers Association, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the Central American and Caribbean Textiles and Apparel Council, and the countries of the affected region.
The CBI parity portion of the conference report will increase demand for U.S. cotton and textile competitiveness. It enables the U.S. cotton industry to partner with Caribbean countries to produce more competitive apparel products, thus increasing demand for U.S. cotton fabric and yarn. This partnership will allow the U.S. cotton industry to compete with imports from Asia as import quotas are phased out over the next 5 years, and it is truly a partnership between Africa and the Caribbean nations, which is one of the strengths of this bill. Only apparel products that contain fabric formed with U.S.-manufactured yarn or are knit in the region using U.S. yarn are eligible for the treatment under the CBI provision.
The Africa portion under the conference report caps trade preferences on apparel from Africa and protects against import surges and transshipment, one of the strengths of the upcoming PNTR agreement with China.
In general, this promotes economic and political stability in Africa and the Caribbean nations through trade instead of aid, making the most of scarce Federal resources. It is a good bill.
Mr. PAYNE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. JACKSON-LEE).
Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from New Jersey for yielding me this time.
I rise again, first of all, Mr. Speaker, to indicate that this is a historic day, and I have advocated for this bill in an earlier statement on the floor of the House. But I thought it was appropriate to come this time to particularly thank those who had an enormous impact on where we are today. I would like to thank the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. CRANE) and the gentleman from New York (Mr. RANGEL), the ranking member, for putting their heads and hearts together and not allowing the road of divisiveness to keep us from this day. I would like to thank the gentleman from California (Mr. ROYCE), who has put many miles in front of him and behind him in visiting the heads of state of African nations and understanding what this legislation would mean. And then the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. PAYNE) for his long years of steadfastness and independence on the question of Africa and its importance in our foreign policy and his leadership on this legislation. I thank him.
Mr. Speaker, we have come to this day primarily because this bill has had a long journey, very distinctive from many of the trade bills that we have brought to this floor. I think it is important for the American people to understand that this is a bill that helps our large businesses, our friends in corporate America; but it is a bill that makes a very profound statement for the poorest countries in the continent of Africa. Countries that earn less than $1,500 per capita are included in participating in this particular legislation. They are given particular incentives to be involved in a trade relationship with the United States.
Mr. Speaker, do my colleagues know what that means? It means the market women in Nigeria and Botswana, in Cote-d'Ivoire, in Ghana, in Benin can be engaged in this concept of trade. It means that the Caribbean Basin initiative gives our friends parity. It means that we answer the question of dumping and transshipment.
So for all of those who think we have fastly gotten to this floor or that we have undercut others, Mr. Speaker, let me say it has been a long journey. We can thank many people, but this does help the people of the continent of Africa; and it does help the people of the Caribbean Basin. I would hope that my colleagues will see the value of it, and I hope that they will vote for this legislation enthusiastically.
Mr. CRANE. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. RANGEL. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. MATSUI), a senior member of the Committee on Ways and Means.
Mr. MATSUI. Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the gentleman from New York (Mr. RANGEL) for yielding me this time.
There are a number of Members here in this room in the House today that have played a significant role. Obviously, the gentleman from California (Mr. ROYCE) and the gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. JEFFERSON) and the gentleman from Washington (Mr. MCDERMOTT), but two people should be really singled out for their outstanding role and their tenaciousness and their leadership in making sure this bill came to the floor of the House and soon to be sent to the President, and that is the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. CRANE), the chairman of the Subcommittee on Trade of the Committee on Ways and Means, and certainly my leader on the Democratic side, the gentleman from New York (Mr. RANGEL). Without their singular leadership and without their inspiration in terms of sub-Saharan Africa, we would not have this bill before us today.
Mr. Speaker, I am going to be very brief. I just want to make a couple of
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Just 3 weeks ago, there were many people, thousands of people that were at the steps of the Capitol demonstrating against the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. They were saying that we should give debt relief; we should actually help these 600 million people and other people that live in poverty throughout the world.
The way to do that is to pass this legislation, to make sure that we give these 600 million people a marketplace-based type economy, so that over time they are going to want to get up like we get up as American citizens and say we want to work to earn a workable wage.
So the way to do that is to pass this bill. Those that refuse to look at this really are not sincere when they go to the steps of the Capitol and talk about debt relief. Handouts internationally do not work. It is creating a marketplace economy to give people an opportunity and a vision to be part of the world economy as we know it today.
So I thank the gentleman from New York (Mr. RANGEL), and I thank the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. CRANE).
Mr. CRANE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. HAYES).
Mr. HAYES. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in opposition to the Trade and Development Act of 2000. This bill will imperil the livelihood of thousands of U.S. textile workers. I support policies and appreciate what is attempting to be done here today, to expand trade and open new markets for our goods. But this bill will not be considered fair.
NAFTA and other free-trade measures were pitched to us as something good for the textile industry. Last year alone, the domestic textile apparel industry lost over 180,000 jobs. This agreement represents the willingness to trade away American textile jobs for cheap goods. It creates the opportunity for massive customs fraud, turning sub-Saharan Africa into a transshipment superhighway. Customs personnel are not equipped to enforce existing rules, and there is no reason to believe that Customs has the resources to endorse the provisions in the agreement.
The agreement provides quota- and duty-free access to imports from Africa and the Caribbean. Combine this with the fact that our textile industry faced record imports last year, and we can see that our industry will be further crippled by imports.
Mr. Speaker, I ask that my colleagues look closely at this bill and vote for our workers and not for others.
Mr. PAYNE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from New York (Mr. OWENS).
Mr. RANGEL. Mr. Speaker, I yield 30 seconds to the gentleman from New York (Mr. OWENS.)
(Mr. OWENS asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)
Mr. OWENS. Mr. Speaker, today is a very important day. The leaders of the Caribbean nation as well as leaders of the African nations are welcoming this first step forward. It is a small step; but it is the first step, where Africa moves from almost point zero to significant participation in world trade. The Caribbean countries, we are going to have some adjustments which we hope are positive. But I would like to make a plea for the Caribbean countries in the Caribbean Basin that are smallest, the islands of Trinidad, Guiana, Barbados, Grenada, Dominica, Saint Lucia, and even Jamaica, which has a population of only about 3 million people.
[Time: 15:15]
They are relatively small; they deserve special targeted treatment. Consider the fact that they are buying far more from the United States, consistently, than we are buying from them. The balance of trade is not a problem there as it is with China and Taiwan and Hong Kong.
How did China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong get such a large portion of our textile market? They are so far away. Why can we not look at the problems that the small islands in the Caribbean have? We should have priority for our friends in this hemisphere who have always been loyal to us; priority for our friends in the hemisphere who purchase our goods and end up with a balance of trade that is in our favor, not in someone else's favor; priority to our friends in this hemisphere who will help us to control the drug trade.
Mr. Speaker, if we do not take care of their exports, if we are not more sensitive to their needs, then we are going to have more problems like the problem of Colombia. It is going to mushroom, because they have no choice except to seek some form of income and to become victims of the prey of drug lords.
Let us look at these nations being special to the United States and give them special sensitive preference.
Mr. Speaker, this long overdue trade legislation is filled with inadequacies and shortcomings; however, it is the consensus of the African and Caribbean leaders that this act constitutes a vital beginning. The African nations will move from a zero point to a point of significant participation. Most Caribbean nations will benefit from new arrangements which prevent the unfair trade advantages of Mexico from becoming worse. The majority of the changes and adjustments have been approved by the Caribbean leaders; however, there are some disappointing background movements.
Mr. Speaker, along with the majority of my Democratic colleagues, I rise to protest the procedure which finalized this important legislation. It must be noted that the Caribbean Basin Initiative [CBI] section of the Senate Conference report that we are voting on today was never presented on the floor of the House of Representatives. This Congress only had the opportunity to vote on the Africa Trade and Growth portion of the bill.
Behind closed doors with minimum participation of Democrats, the Republican Majority developed this ``take it or leave it'' measure. There are some reviews of the bill which state that certain countries have lost ground. According to a representative of one of the Unions: ``To the extent that it is not good for anybody and without the actual bill for close review, Latin America profits from the bill, with the Dominican Republic the only Caribbean country that gets good benefits. Jamaica, which has good laws, has lost [a portion of] its share every year from 1995 to 1998. It is no good for Caribbean countries and no good for U.S. workers.''
We look forward to the election of a democratically controlled Congress where all of the shortcomings and deficiencies that we uncover may be revised. But as of this date, the nations of Africa and the Caribbean Basin are celebrating this important first step. President Clinton has stated that he will sign this legislation into law.
BENEFITS FOR THE CARIBBEAN BASIN
Preserves the United States commitment to Caribbean Basin beneficiary countries by promoting the growth of free enterprise and economic opportunity in these neighboring countries and thereby enhances the national security interests of the U.S.
Builds on the Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery Act enacted in 1984 and extends additional trade benefits through 2008.
Extends duty-free benefits to apparel made in the Caribbean Basin from U.S. yarn and fabric.
Extends duty-free benefits to knit apparel made in the CBI from regional fabric made with U.S. yarn and knit-to-shape apparel (except socks), up to a cap of 250 million square meter equivalents, with a growth rate of 16 percent per year for the first three years; extends benefits for an additional category of regional knit apparel products up to a cap of 4.2 million dozen, growing 16 percent per year for the first three years.
Includes provisions specifically designed to promote U.S. exports and the use of U.S. fabric, yarn, and cotton.
Extends benefits to certain products from countries which are signatories to free trade agreements with the United States.
Benefits under Caribbean Basin Trade Partnership Act are conditioned on countries continuing to meet conditions including intellectual property protection, investment protection, improved market access for U.S. exports, and whether the country is taking steps to afford internationally recognized worker rights.
The bill requires that eligible countries implement strict and effective Customs procedures to guard against transshipment. Under a ``one strike and you are out'' provision, if an exporter is determined to have engaged in illegal transshipment of textile and apparel products from a CBI country, the President is required to deny all benefits under the bill to that exporter for a period of two years. Transshippers are subject to treble charges to existing textile and apparel quotas.
Mr. CRANE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the distinguished gentleman from Florida (Mr. FOLEY).
Mr. FOLEY. Mr. Speaker, I first applaud the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. CRANE) for his fine leadership on many of the trade issues our committee considers.
As a Floridian, I want to underscore the importance of trade with our Caribbean Basin neighbors and also trade with Africa. I applaud it when Members of this Congress can come together in a reasonable fashion to talk about the economic realities and opportunities that are presented through these bills. I think this is the hallmark of this Congress where we can come together and discuss with some differences, yet support for the underlying measure.
This will enhance trade with Africa, which is vitally important. We also have to underscore, while we are talking about Africa, some of the most serious considerations relative to AIDS that are afflicting that region. I have worked with our former colleague, Mr. Dellums, on that issue; and I will continue to do so. But one way that we can help in Africa today is inspiring and working towards increased trade with that region.
So I again thank the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. CRANE), the chairman of the Subcommittee on Trade of the Committee on Ways and Means, for his leadership on this issue, and I urge Members to vote affirmatively for the package today.
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. UPTON). The gentleman from California (Mr. ROYCE), who has the right to close, has 1 minute remaining; the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. PAYNE) has 1 1/2 minutes remaining; the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. CRANE) has 4 1/2 minutes remaining; and the gentleman from New York (Mr. RANGEL) has 1 minute remaining.
Mr. RANGEL. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I do not have any further requests for time. I just would like to once again thank the Members of the Committee on Ways and Means and the Committee on International Relations for the bipartisan way in which they approached not only both bills, but approached the differences that we have had with the other body.
I would like to thank the leadership on both sides of the aisle, and I certainly want to thank the staffs of the Committee on Ways and Means, more specifically of the Subcommittee on Trade, that worked well into the morning hours in order to make certain that we did have a conference report.
I want to thank the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. CRANE) for not only the courageous way he handles his personal problems but the courageous way he handled this bill and the political implications that we felt. It is indeed an honor working with him and the chairman of the committee.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. CRANE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the distinguished gentleman from California (Mr. THOMAS).
Mr. THOMAS. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. CRANE) for yielding me this time, and I take the time only to compliment everyone. Having served on the Subcommittee on Trade over these years and watching how we have tried to put a product together, especially on a bilateral basis, and the difficulty in dealing with regions that cry out most for need like the Caribbean Basin and Sub-Saharan Africa, I think all of us agree that this piece of legislation is overdue.
But having said that, it still took an enormous amount of work to put together, and I compliment the gentleman from New York (Mr. RANGEL) and most especially the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. CRANE), chairman of the subcommittee, and everybody who put in their hard work.
Mr. Speaker, this is a promising beginning. But as we all pat ourselves on the back, we have to underscore the fact that this is the beginning.
Mr. CRANE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I want to express appreciation to all present and those who are not here on the floor right at this moment but who have been actively involved in this bipartisan effort. I cannot stress that enough. It has been such a real comfort when we have an opportunity for an overwhelming majority of us to come together on issues where we share common views and values and we are trying to advance an agenda that works to the interest of people less fortunate than ourselves.
We are doing good work here. And I want to express particular appreciation to the gentleman from New York (Mr. RANGEL), our ranking minority member on the committee. I have had the pleasure of working closely with the gentleman not just on this issue, but a number of issues; and we do have remarkable things in common. I have always viewed him as potentially salvageable.
Mr. Speaker, I am kidding. I do so much appreciate him. And I want to just thank everybody else and urge them all to cast their votes in support of this strong bipartisan effort.
Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to yield the balance of my time to the distinguished gentleman from California (Mr. ROYCE).
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the gentleman from Illinois?
There was no objection.
Mr. PAYNE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, let me also echo what has been said here before. Let me certainly commend the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. CRANE) and the gentleman from New York (Mr. RANGEL) for the tremendous work that they have done on this bill. Of course, the gentleman from New York (Mr. GILMAN) and the gentleman from Connecticut (Mr. GEJDENSON), our Chairs, also worked very hard.
Mr. Speaker, I would like to compliment the gentleman from California (Mr. ROYCE) for his interest and his dedication to this bill and to issues about Africa in general, as well as the gentleman from New York (Mr. HOUGHTON) and the gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. JEFFERSON). But let me make special tribute to the gentleman from Washington (Mr. MCDERMOTT), a classmate of mine, who came in and is the one who came up with the idea and said something had to happen and moved it forward. So I would like to make special acknowledgment to the gentleman from Washington who has done an outstanding job in bringing this idea forth.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from California (Mr. ROYCE) has 3 minutes remaining.
Mr. ROYCE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I would like to join the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. PAYNE) in recognizing the work that the gentleman from Washington (Mr. MCDERMOTT) over the last 6 years has put in conceptually to this effort. We have thanked the ranking members, but let me also thank the staff of the Committee on International Relations and the staff of the Committee on Ways and Means for their work on this bill.
Mr. Speaker, let me say as chairman of the Subcommittee on Africa, I think we are on the verge of making a very significant achievement for this Congress and for the future of America's relationship with Africa. I think the African and Caribbean bills are going to play a critical role in helping to bring Africa and the Caribbean nations further into the world economy, which I believe is good not only for those countries, but good for the United States.
I believe that this bill will not cure all of the ills that we have heard about today, some of the problems in Africa; but I think it will help spur economic growth in Africa. And unless African economies grow, then all our concerns about Africa, whether it is poverty or environmental degradation or disease, those are guaranteed to grow.
I think the Caribbean Basin initiative in this bill offers benefits to American businesses. I think it builds on the $19 billion in exports that the U.S. sent to Caribbean countries last year. And as we have heard, U.S. exports to that region have tripled as a result of the enactment of CBI in 1984.
With both Africa and the Caribbean, this bill reduces duties, which is a benefit to the American consumer. And because it helps build political and economic stability, the Caribbean Basin Initiative enhancement in this report will contribute to U.S. national security. The Caribbean countries are close neighbors to America, and we have a big stake in their well-being.
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Mr. Speaker, let me say the African Growth and Opportunity Act will help build critical and economic stability in Africa, and that is in our strategic national interest.
We need to pass this conference report. We need to do what is good for Africa, do what is good for the Caribbean nations, and what is good for America. I urge a ``yes'' vote from my colleagues.
Ms. PELOSI. Mr. Speaker, in recent months, the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Africa has finally begun to receive the international attention that a crisis of this magnitude deserves. Over 23 million Africans are infected wtih HIV, and it is projected that a quarter of southern Africa's population will die of AIDS. These staggering numbers, and the political and economic instability that they are creating, have prompted the National Security Council to designate HIV/AIDS in Africa as a security threat to the United States.
Although I am supporting the African Growth and Caribbean Initiative Act, my enthusiasm is mixed with disappointment that we have missed this important opportunity to take substantive steps to address this disease. Two HIV/AIDS provisions were excluded from the conference report by the majority. The inclusion of these two provisions in this legislation would have improved access to affordable AIDS drugs and strengthened the international effort to develop an AIDS vaccine. Efforts to treat and eventually eradicate HIV/AIDS are vital to Africa's economic future. It is no exaggeration to say that HIV/AIDS is decimating the African work force, and the African economic progress that this legislation is designed to support is being placed in jeopardy.
Economic ties between the U.S. and Africa have been growing steadily this decade. African economic development creates new markets for U.S. products and provides resources that this country needs. However, the African economic development that we benefit from in this country is directly threatened by the AIDS eidemic. Professor Jeffrey Sachs, Director of the Harvard Institute for International Development, has stated that ``a frontal attack on AIDS in Africa may now be the single most important strategy for economic development.'' It is estimated that over the next 20 years AIDS will reduce by a fourth the economies of sub-Saharan Africa.
AIDS undermines economic development in several ways. HIV strikes individuals during their most productive years. The disease erodes productivity by increasing absenteeism, and it raises the cost of business through increased need for health benefits and increased costs of recruiting and training new employees as current employees die or become disabled. A 1999 South African study found that the total costs of benefits in that country will increase from 7 percent of salaries in 1995 to 19 percent by 2005 due to AIDS. Some companies are already hiring two employees for every one skilled job because of the likelihood that one will die from AIDS.
I had hoped that two HIV/AIDS provisions would be included in the conference report. First, Senator KERRY and I have proposed a tax credit for qualified research and development costs associated with research on vaccines for malaria, tuberculosis, or HIV. The tax credit equals 30 percent of total annual qualified R&D investments. In addition, smaller companies could choose to waive the credit and pass it on to their equity investors who finance R&D on one of the priority vaccines. A vaccine is our best hope to bring this epidemic under control and we must accelerate research efforts in order to have any realistic chance of successfully developing a faccines in the near future.
Second, Senators FEINSTEIN and FEINGOLD proposed a provision designed to improve the access of African nations to generic equivalents of expensive HIV/AIDS drugs. Many years of work and significant federal research dollars have gone into the development of the combination drug therapies that are extending the lives and improving the quality of life for so many people living with HIV/AIDS in this country. We have a moral responsibility to ensure the widest possible access to these treatments and new therapies as they are developed. The benefits that come from our federal investments in scientific and medical research are not meant to be restricted to the wealthy.
The inclusion of these HIV/AIDS provisions would have contributed significently to vital efforts to treat and evenually halt HIV/AIDS, thereby ensuring a healthier and more prosperous future for the African continent. I hope that the Congress will move swiftly to address this crisis by doing everything we can to treat, educate, prevent, and eventually eradicate HIV/AIDS in both the development and the developing world.
Mr. HASTERT. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this conference report and I urge my colleagues to support it as well.
The American people often look to Congress in the hope that we can accomplish things in a bi-partisan fashion. With this bill, we have.
My colleagues on both sides of the aisle, especially Mr. ARCHER, Mr. RANGEL, Mr. CRANE, and Mr. ROYCE, worked very hard on this legislation and should be commended for their efforts.
Today's conference report gets to the very heart of compassionate conservatism. By promoting expanded trade, the United States will be minimizing the need for foreign aid and disaster relief. We will be helping other nations become more self-sufficient.
This Africa-CBI bill is great news for all parties involved. For our friends in Africa and the Caribbean, this bill will help increase the stability of their nations, and help their economies grow.
For the United States, this bill means an expanded market for American manufactured goods and agricultural products.
It was over 200 years ago that our founding father Ben Franklin said that, ``No nation was ever ruined by trade.'' Ben Franklin was right. Nations aren't ruined by trade; they are strengthened by trade.
With this bill, we will be exporting more than just our products, we will be exporting our ideals of freedom and democracy. That means a stronger, more stable Africa. And safer, stronger Caribbean nations.
By promoting trade and investment in other nations, we are making the world a more secure place.
There are 700 million people living in Sub-saharan Africa and 58 million people living in the Caribbean. We must engage these citizens of the world, and help them participate in the new economy.
The new economy is based on world-wide trade and the free flow of ideas. By passing this conference report, we will take another crucial step down the road to an integrated society and world.
I hope my colleagues will join me in supporting this important bi-partisan, legislation. It is in the best interest of our nation and our world.
Mrs. CHRISTENSEN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 434, the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act. Today, in the Africa and Caribbean Trade Bills, this body has the potential to make a great contribution not only to the people and the countries of Africa and the Caribbean, but for those of us right here in our own country.
These bills have been a long time coming, but I am pleased to join my colleagues in strongly supporting them.
As you know, I am not only a proud person of African descent, but my district is a part of the English speaking Caribbean. Although the Virgin Islands is part of the United States, and some of the issues we hoped to have addressed within the body of this legislation are not included, the benefits that the increased trade will bring to the region will benefit us as well.
I want to take this opportunity to applaud Congressman RANGEL and Congressman CRANE for their hard work, persistence and diligence in bringing these bills to the floor today.
I ask all of my colleagues to fully support H.R. 434 and vote yes.
Mr. MANZULLO. Mr. Speaker, this legislation will for the first time focus the attention of the U.S. government on a comprehensive trade strategy towards Africa. We have neglected this continent too long only to the benefit of their former European colonial powers. With the anemic growth in our exports, the U.S. needs to look at every possible market opportunity to improve trade relations.
Many may be surprised to learn that U.S. exports to Africa have been growing at a steady rate. Exports from Illinois to South Africa grew from $269 million in 1995 to $413 million in 1998--a 54 percent increase! Illinois exports more to South Africa than it does to Spain or India.
The specific African trade picture for Rockford is even better. Exports from Rockford to all of Africa almost doubled, going from $2.9 million in 1995 to $5.1 million in 1998. Some of these exports came from companies like Etnyre of Oregon, which sold asphalt making equipment to the Ivory Coast and Kenya; Newell's International Division in Rockford, which sold office and home products to Zimbabwe and South Africa; Wahl Clipper of Sterling, which sold barbershop hair clippers to South Africa and Nigeria; and Taylor of Rockton, which sold soft serve ice cream machines to South Africa and Nigeria.
African trade also extends to McHenry County--RITA Chemical of Woodstock sold industrial inorganic chemicals for the cosmetic industry in South Africa and Motorola of Harvard, a manufacturer of cellular phones that are used even in the remotest parts of Africa.
This legislation will further increase export opportunities from companies like these all across America by re-orienting the trade programs and policies of the U.S. government towards Africa.
Jane Dauffenbach, President of Aquarius Systems, located in North Prairie, Wisconsin, testified before my Small Business Exports
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This bill represents the tip of the iceberg of what can happen if we build better trade relationships with the 48 countries of sub-Saharan Africa. All these companies agree that if there is a more active effort on the part of the U.S. government to help develop and open the markets in Africa, they would benefit through increased sales.
While this bill is not a cure-all for our trade deficit or for solving all of Africa's problems, it represents one beginning step in the right direction. It has the support of our exporting community. It has the support of all--I repeat--all of the sub-Saharan African countries. It's a win-win for all sides. I urge you to join them in supporting this legislation.
Mr. WATTS of Oklahoma. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of the conference report for H.R. 434, the African Growth and Opportunity Act and Caribbean Basin Initiative. This much-needed legislation is a first and necessary step to initiate a new era of trade and investment relations between the United States and the 48 nations of Sub-Saharan Africa and the 25 countries of the Caribbean.
Mr. Speaker, for decades we have funded a variety of foreign aid programs to assist lesser- and under-developed countries like those in Sub-Saharan Africa and the Caribbean, where far too many people continue to live in deep and unrelenting poverty. This aid has failed to provide the necessary catalyst to create jobs and provide a higher standard of living for the people in these regions.
Just as in helping poor communities in the United States, I firmly believe that in the long run private sector investment will lead to jobs, economic development and prosperity. As long as economic opportunity is denied, self-sufficiency is impossible. H.R. 434 provides that missing spark of opportunity that is so essential to building economic independence. And, without this bill, the people of Sub-Saharan Africa and the Caribbean will continue to lack the necessary tools to provide a better future for themselves and their children.
Mr. Speaker, this bill is a win-win situation for Americans. Increased economic prosperity will help support and strengthen the democratic institutions emerging in Sub-Saharan Africa, and a stronger, more stable region will lead to increased international security and peace. And, through H.R. 434, economic opportunity will be available to people whose governments are committed to establishing and moving toward market-based economies.
At the same time, this bill also creates new trade and investment opportunities for American exporters and workers. Developing economies in Africa and the Caribbean are natural markets for U.S. products and services, and until now those markets did not have the means to develop and mature into thriving economies with consumers clamoring for American-made products.
Mr. Speaker, H.R. 434 is the first step to creating American trade partners who can develop into allies to combat terrorism, international crime and drug trafficking, as well as help fight the spread of disease that continues to plague far too many in the under-developed world. I urge my colleagues to join me in enthusiastic support of this important legislation.
Mrs. MEEK of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 434--the African Growth and Opportunity Conference Report. The constituents in my district support efforts by this Congress to ease the burden of poverty in the Caribbean by solidifying a strong growing market for U.S. exports to the Caribbean Basin Initiative (CBI) region.
This bill encourages African and Caribbean countries to continue economic reforms while providing essential opportunities for their citizens. This legislation provides duty free, quota free treatment for apparel made in 24 countries of the Caribbean Basin Initiative. This will allow the countries of Central America and the Caribbean to compete on an equal basis with Mexico under NAFTA.
Passage of this bill will help raise the standard of living for people in the Caribbean and Africa and help create new economic ties between the United States, the Caribbean and Africa. Private sector trade and investment will create new markets for U.S. exports of goods and services. Fostering economic growth in Africa and the Caribbean is critical to raising the standard of living of the people living in Africa and the Caribbean. By assisting U.S. exporters in expanding their access to the African and Caribbean markets, we are opening up a market for 800 million potential new consumers for American goods and services.
The United States has moral, political, strategic, and economic interests in supporting and helping to facilitate the economic transformation of African and Caribbean countries. Most of the Caribbean and sub-Saharan Africa's economies are small and fragile and lag behind the rest of the world in almost everything.
However, sub-Saharan Africa holds tremendous importance to the United States on a number of fronts. On the most basic level, its 48 nations encompass tremendous natural resources and a land area and population approximately three times that of the United States. Africa is also important to the United States because we have 33 million people of African descent and more than one million first and second generation Africans now living in the United States.
Strategically, the United States has a strong interest in helping to build a strong, stable, and prosperous Africa. The continent of Africa is one of the world's great emerging economic opportunities. Already, in 1998, the United States exported $6.5 billion in goods to sub-Saharan Africa, supporting more than 100,000 jobs in the United States. Figures on export services reached $3.6 billion in 1997. There is no doubt that Africa is important to the United States.
In order to be attractive to foreign investors, Africa must expand trade and continue to deepen reform. We must not allow this great continent to lag behind the rest of the world. There is no doubt that this bill will aid in our efforts to ensure a strong Africa and help our African brothers and sisters. I urge my colleagues to support this bill.
Mr. BENTSEN. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the conference report for H.R. 434, the African Growth and Opportunity Act. This bi-partisan legislation includes important provisions expanding trade opportunities with the nations of sub-Saharan Africa and the Caribbean Basin.
Enactment of the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act and the Caribbean Basin Initiative is crucial to both the development of U.S. trade to U.S. foreign policy goals in both regions. The provisions in the Africa-CBI conference report will provide significant benefits for sub-Saharan Africa and will help create incentives for new business and partnerships between Africa and the United States. Passage of this legislation will open up a market of 800 million potential new consumers for American goods and services. Perhaps most importantly, the Africa-CBI legislation will establish a solid foundation on which we can build a closer U.S.-African trading relationship and solidify trade ties with the CBI region.
The Caribbean portion of the Conference Report provides duty-free and quota-free treatments to imports of apparel made from U.S. fabric. The 25 nations in the Caribbean Basin will also be permitted to send a limited amount of apparel made from fabric produced in the region. These provisions will allow substantial growth in the Caribbean Basin's exports to the U.S. and has been carefully crafted to avoid threatening U.S. jobs or abusing basic labor standards.
This legislation would also provide the 48 sub-Saharan African nations with the necessary tools to sustain long-term economic growth and to compete in global markets. Passage of this legislation is important to strengthen the capacity of U.S. programs so that American business can compete in Africa's expanding market. The Africa-CBI bill would institute a comprehensive trade and investment policy for the U.S. and sub-Saharan Africa, and establish a transition path from development assistance to economic self-reliance for African countries committed to economic and political reform. The Africa-CBI bill also provides for an annual high-level forum to discuss economic and political reform. The Africa-CBI bill also provides for an annual high-level forum to discuss economic and trade issues, including the promotion of OPIC and EXIM efforts in the region, reforms to the Development Fund for Africa and the need for effective debt relief.
The current trade relationship between the U.S. and the African continent is relatively small. Last year, two way trade of goods totaled $19.6 billion and the U.S. market share was less than 8 percent. On a continent with over 10 percent of the world's population, the U.S. business community will have new opportunities to develop infrastructure projects, bringing the benefits of improved transportation systems, new power plants and modern telecommunication installations. To that end, H.R. 434 facilitates $650 million in critical investments opportunities for Americans and Africans interested in modernizing Africa's infrastructure.
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I am also pleased that the Africa-CBI bill includes language establishing tough new standards to prevent illegal apparel transshipments. To discourage other nations from illegally funneling their textiles and apparel through Africa into the U.S., this legislation would suspend an exporter's trade privileges if it is found guilty of engaging in illegal transshipments. Further, the agreement includes a provision that would require the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative to rotate the goods sanctioned during trade disputes. Known as carousel retaliation, this important measure will increase U.S. leverage in trade disputes by spreading the impact of sanctions over several markets. These measures will ensure that the trade between African nations, the CBI and the United States will be held to a fair standard, and not be to the detriment of American jobs and workers.
Mr. Speaker, this conference report is not a perfect piece of legislation. I wish the conferees had done more within this bill to provide needed debt relief and deliver immediate assistance to Africa in its battle against the AIDS epidemic. But this bill represents an important first step in creating a new and mutually benefiting trade and investment relationship between the U.S. and Africa.
With enactment of the Africa-CBI bill, a sound trade and investment policy foundation for expanding economic partnership between the U.S. and sub-Saharan Africa will be created. I strongly support this Conference Report and urge my colleagues to support this important legislation.
Mr. ROYCE. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time, and I move the previous question on the conference report.
The previous question was ordered.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the conference report.
The question was taken; and the Speaker pro tempore announced that the ayes appeared to have it.
Mr. CRANE. Mr. Speaker, I object to the vote on the ground that a quorum is not present and make the point of order that a quorum is not present.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Evidently a quorum is not present.
The Sergeant at Arms will notify absent Members.
The vote was taken by electronic device, and there were--yeas 309, nays 110, not voting 16, as follows:
Ackerman
Aderholt
Allen
Archer
Armey
Bachus
Baird
Baker
Ballenger
Barrett (NE)
Barton
Bass
Bateman
Becerra
Bentsen
Bereuter
Berkley
Berman
Berry
Biggert
Bilbray
Bishop
Blagojevich
Bliley
Blumenauer
Blunt
Boehlert
Boehner
Bonilla
Bono
Borski
Boswell
Boyd
Brady (TX)
Brown (FL)
Bryant
Burton
Callahan
Calvert
Camp
Campbell
Canady
Cannon
Capps
Cardin
Carson
Castle
Chabot
Chambliss
Clay
Clayton
Clement
Clyburn
Collins
Combest
Cooksey
Cox
Cramer
Crane
Cubin
Cummings
Cunningham
Danner
Davis (FL)
Davis (IL)
Davis (VA)
DeGette
DeLay
DeMint
Deutsch
Diaz-Balart
Dickey
Dicks
Dixon
Doggett
Dooley
Doolittle
Dreier
Dunn
Edwards
Ehlers
Ehrlich
Emerson
Engel
English
Eshoo
Ewing
Farr
Fattah
Foley
Ford
Fossella
Fowler
Frelinghuysen
Frost
Gallegly
Ganske
Gejdenson
Gekas
Gibbons
Gilchrest
Gillmor
Gilman
Gonzalez
Goodlatte
Goodling
Gordon
Goss
Graham
Granger
Green (WI)
Greenwood
Hall (OH)
Hall (TX)
Hansen
Hastert
Hastings (WA)
Hayworth
Hefley
Herger
Hill (IN)
Hill (MT)
Hilliard
Hinchey
Hinojosa
Hobson
Hoeffel
Hoekstra
Hooley
Horn
Houghton
Hoyer
Hulshof
Hutchinson
Hyde
Inslee
Isakson
Istook
Jackson-Lee (TX)
Jefferson
John
Johnson (CT)
Johnson, E. B.
Johnson, Sam
Jones (OH)
Kasich
Kelly
Kilpatrick
Kind (WI)
King (NY)
Knollenberg
Kolbe
Kuykendall
LaFalce
LaHood
Lampson
Largent
Larson
Latham
LaTourette
Lazio
Leach
Levin
Lewis (CA)
Lewis (GA)
Lewis (KY)
Linder
Lofgren
Lowey
Lucas (KY)
Luther
Maloney (NY)
Manzullo
Martinez
Matsui
McCarthy (MO)
McCarthy (NY)
McCollum
McCrery
McDermott
McInnis
McIntosh
McKeon
McNulty
Meehan
Meek (FL)
Meeks (NY)
Menendez
Mica
Millender-McDonald
Miller (FL)
Miller, Gary
Minge
Moore
Moran (KS)
Moran (VA)
Morella
Myrick
Napolitano
Nethercutt
Northup
Nussle
Olver
Ortiz
Ose
Owens
Oxley
Packard
Pastor
Payne
Pease
Pelosi
Peterson (PA)
Petri
Pickering
Pickett
Pitts
Pombo
Pomeroy
Porter
Portman
Price (NC)
Pryce (OH)
Quinn
Radanovich
Ramstad
Rangel
Regula
Reyes
Reynolds
Riley
Rivers
Rodriguez
Roemer
Rogan
Ros-Lehtinen
Rothman
Roukema
Royce
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Vento
Wise
Young (AK)
[Time: 15:35]
ANNOUNCEMENT BY THE SPEAKER PRO TEMPORE
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. UPTON) (during the vote). The Chair notes a disturbance in the gallery in contravention of the laws and rules of the House.
The Sergeant at Arms will remove those persons responsible for the disturbance and restore order to the gallery.
[Time: 15:46]
Mr. SOUDER, Mrs. MINK of Hawaii, and Mr. FLETCHER changed their vote from ``yea'' to ``nay.''
Messrs. HINOJOSA, TOWNS and LEWIS of Georgia changed their vote from ``nay'' to ``yea.''
So the conference report was agreed to.
The result of the vote was announced as above recorded.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
END