Posted on 07/27/2005 10:42:51 AM PDT by Happy2BMe
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Bush urged Republican hold outs on Wednesday to back a controversial free trade agreement with Central America, and party leaders predicted he would win but only after a tough fight for votes.
"The president reminded us that we come here not only to represent our district but to represent the nation," House of Representatives Majority Leader Tom DeLay told reporters after a Capitol Hill meeting between Bush and House Republicans, many of whom have opposed it on the grounds that it will hurt industries in their regions. "It will be a tough vote but we'll pass CAFTA tonight," the Texas Republican said. "We will honor our commitments to the south, we will protect our national security and will do it all with very few Democrats."
The long-awaited vote would end months of uncertainty about the fate of the U.S.-Central American Free Trade Agreement, or CAFTA, which lowers trade barriers between the United States, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic.
The White House has a harder time rounding up votes for CAFTA than for any other recent trade pact because of stiff opposition from many Republicans in textile and sugar-producing states who fear it will cause job losses.
In addition, most Democrats oppose CAFTA on the grounds that its labor provisions are not tough enough for a region with a poor record on workers' rights. The White House says the labor provisions are stronger than any previous trade agreement and consistent with guidelines Congress set in 2002.
Bush appealed to House Republicans to put aside any "parochial interests" they might have about CAFTA and look at the broader benefits of the pact to the United States and the six other countries, DeLay said.
"It is good for our national security in supporting these fledging democracies at our back door. It is good in our effort against illegal immigration. It is good for our economy," DeLay said.
DeLay said Republicans would gavel the CAFTA vote to a close "when we get 218," the number of votes needed for approval. Republican leaders have angered Democrats in the past by holding votes open until they finally pressure enough party members to vote the way the leadership wants.
CHINA TRADE VOTE
Several Republicans from the textile states of South Carolina, Alabama and Georgia are expected to support CAFTA after reaching a deal with Republican leaders and U.S. Trade Representative Rob Portman to address specific concerns.
However, many Republicans from North Carolina -- which has experienced heavy textile job losses -- have remained opposed.
The Bush administration also has made promises aimed at reducing sugar industry opposition to the pact, but many Republicans from sugar-producing states such as Louisiana, Florida, Montana and Idaho continue to have concerns.
The vote on CAFTA will be proceeded by a vote on Republican bill aimed at addressing a number of trade issues with China. House leaders expect to pick up the support of some Republicans in industrial states like Pennsylvania with that bill.
Only six Democrats have publicly announced their support for CAFTA. Portman told Reuters he remained hopeful that many more would vote for it in the end, but declined to give any estimate.
Portman said he had just come from a meeting with three undecided Democrats and they had refused to tell him on they planned to vote on CAFTA.
LOL!
"To say nothing of your inability to vote in any American election because you are "NOT" an American."
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Neither will any of the rest of us be for very long. The concept of "An American" is about to transform into "An American Traveller".
CAFTA will usher it in. You won't like it.
...I am absolutely sure that you have never voted for President Bush...
Then you remain absolutely wrong.
This A-hole isn't even American?
Not only are you not an American Citizen, you are the worst kind of non-citizen, Mr."If you don't agree with me you are a "stupid racist punk"". Some of us remember your comments against Americans and will never forget. But I am sure your own country will applaud you.
" Think of it this way, would you rather your dollars go to China, or to Central America?"
#60.
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Did you hear that China's economic might (thanks to disastrous trade policy in favor of Communist China) just emboldened them to bid for a major United States owned oil corporation within the past two weeks?
You are aware of that, right?
Nope, he was one of the ones using Racist, Stupid and punk in every thread until he got booted from the forums.
Either that group or the one who said passing NAFTA would remove the incentive for mexicans to immigrate to the US illegally.
Only problem is that if we get rid of the current batch of whores in Congress they'll soon be replaced by another bunch of sell-outs........many go in with the right mindset but's pretty apparent that once they're in Babylon, DC for any length of time they succumb to the various temptations.
My idea would be to try everything possible to stop domestic & foreign corporations as well as gov'ts. from being able to influence our reps with $, trips, presents, etc. The only way the American public can ever get true representation again is to do whatever it takes to remove these lobbysists from buying off those that we elected to represent us.
Figgers.
What a jerk.
Economic Activity Expands on Retail Sales
AP ^ | 7/27/05 | Jennie Aversa
Posted on 07/27/2005 11:33:56 AM PDT by Tumbleweed_Connection
The economy flashed fresh signals of strength in the last two months, with factories buzzing and cash registers ka-chinging despite high gas prices.
The latest snapshot emerging from the Federal Reserve's survey of the business climate around the country, released Wednesday, suggested the economy has bounced back nicely from a springtime soft patch. The job market showed some improvements and inflation was fairly contained, the survey also found.
The picture was consistent with the assessment Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan offered last week when he delivered the central bank's midyear economic outlook to Congress.
At that time, Greenspan signaled that short-term interest rates will continue to move higher in the months ahead in an effort to keep the economy and inflation on an even keel. Economists widely expect Fed policymakers will boost rates by another quarter-percentage point at their next meeting, Aug. 9. The Fed's survey appears to support such a move.
Just a tip, but when you do email them, ask for a written response back, and keep them for future reference.
Go away monkey boy. Keep your lies to yourself.
If you are not a United States Citizen, why are these matters of any interest to you?
Yes, indeed, that was on the immigration threads. As I recall, this dipstick was one of the most vocal of the pro-illegal alien/cheap labor lobby, known now as the FR resident quisling contingent.
Of course, not being a citizen and all, we probably can't categorize him as a quisling...not yet.
We neither need nor want future quislings as newly minted American citizens. Lets hope this one returns to his native land, wherever that may be.
You're free express your opinion, but no one here should mistake it as one coming from someone who has America's best interests at heart.
Is everyone on this thread a Democrat or what? Whine whine whine. "it's going to move all our jobs to south america" bla bla bla BS. Man! We need a level-headed economist here to help you all realize that NAFTA helped both the Mexican and the American economies. NAFTA did not take out jobs. China did not take our jobs. China created it's own jobs. Protectionism never works. It only breeds isolation and economic depression, not to menion torpedoing all our diplomatic efforts on everyone's part. CAFTA is basically a huge win-win except for the sugar and textile industries. The size of the economy of all these CAFTA countries together is equal to that of Sacramento, CA. We are trying to help them up, and they will help us in return. There really aren't too many negative effects here. All I needed to know that CAFTA was a good thing was to see my ultra-lib representative Evans screaming his lungs out at the local union hall about how after CAFTA there will be no jobs and we will all be living in the street swimming in our own feces. Don't let the media and the Dims tell you what is and isn't good for us. Economists know the economy, biased reporters and liberal hypocrites don't! I thought us Freepers would have better sense than this.
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