Providing For Consideration of H.R. 6406, Trade Laws Modification
PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION OF H.R. 6406, TRADE LAWS MODIFICATION -- (House of Representatives - December 08, 2006)
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Mr. HASTINGS of Florida. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Let me first thank the distinguished Chair of the House Rules Committee, my very good friend, Mr. Dreier, for yielding me the time. As a point of personal privilege, Madam Speaker, let me take a moment to commend Chairman Dreier for his able stewardship of the Rules Committee over these past several years.
I consider David to have been, on balance, a very good chairman. He certainly is an institutionalist and someone who clearly understands the role of the United States and the United States Congress in the world today. He was given the challenge of running the Rules Committee at a particularly difficult juncture in congressional history.
David, it has been a pleasure to work with you, to travel with you, and to learn from you. I look forward to our continued work together, albeit with slightly different roles in the future.
Madam Speaker, as Chairman Dreier has already pointed out, this is a comprehensive and massive trade bill that is being brought to the House floor today. It was introduced in the House within the past few hours, and we are asked to vote on it shortly. I seriously doubt that most Members have read this bill. Okay, maybe Chairman Thomas and Mr. Rangel. Others? Not really, not a chance.
In some respects, this was a troubling pattern in the Congress, which I hope will end tomorrow. As I have said multiple times this year, it is my great hope that this type of legislating will end at the close of this year.
Now, within this massive bill are provisions that are both positive and negative. If this bill was split into four or six separate bills, I suspect I would find myself voting against three or five of the individual pieces of legislation. But I don't have that opportunity because, once again, the outgoing leadership has closed down the process in the hopes of squelching democracy here in the people's House.
Despite my serious misgivings about several portions of this bill, I may wind up supporting it for the sections that deal with our Caribbean neighbor to the immediate south.
The major focus of this bill, as it relates to the people of south Florida and of the 23rd Congressional District, which I am privileged to represent, is the investment it makes in Haiti. The truth is, Madam Speaker, this Congress and this administration and the previous administration has had a dismal record as it relates to helping one of the most beleaguered nations in our hemisphere. This bill takes a step, albeit a small step, in helping our brothers and sisters in Haiti begin to take control of their economy, take control of their livelihoods and, hopefully, their circumstances.
It is not a panacea, far from it. But it is, in my view, a step in the right direction. One of the key provisions of the Haitian Hemispheric Opportunity Through Partnership Encouragement, as it is referred to as the HOPE Act, will be that it provides new duty free, quota-free access to the U.S. market for apparel made in Haiti.
This has a two-fold benefit. One, it should, over time, allow businesses in Haiti to flourish and build a stable economy and lead to a more stable democracy; and, two, it will also help to lessen the massive trade imbalance we currently owe to China.
Madam Speaker, as the incoming chairman of the House Ways and Means committee, my good friend, Charlie Rangel, has recently said Haiti and its fledgling democracy stand at critical crossroads. This is a key moment in the relationship between the United States and Haiti.
In order to capitalize on this moment, Haiti needs to be able to create sustained economic opportunity for its citizens. The provisions of this section of the bill can and likely will go a long way to fulfilling the U.S. part of this commitment.
As I said, Madam Speaker, this is not a perfect bill, and it certainly is not a perfect process. But this is what we have to work with today, and I may support this bill, warts and all, because of what it may do for the future of Haiti and its citizens who are desperately in need of support from the United States and other donor countries.
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