Posted on 07/27/2005 9:14:44 PM PDT by RWR8189
WASHINGTON - The House narrowly approved the Central American Free Trade Agreement early Thursday, a personal triumph for President Bush, who campaigned aggressively for the accord he said would foster prosperity and democracy in the hemisphere.
The 217-215 vote just after midnight adds six Latin American countries to the growing lists of nations with free trade agreements with the United States and averts what could have been a major political embarrassment for the Bush administration.
It was an uphill effort to win a majority, with Bush traveling to Capitol Hill earlier in the day to appeal to wavering Republicans to support a deal he said was critical to U.S. national security.
Lobbying continued right up to the vote, with Vice President Dick Cheney, U.S. Trade Representative Rob Portman (news, bio, voting record) and Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez tracking undecided lawmakers.
The United States signed the accord, known as CAFTA, a year ago with Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic, and the Senate approved it last month. It now goes to the president for his signature.
To capture a majority, supporters had to overcome what some have called free trade fatigue, a growing sentiment that free trade deals such as the North American Free Trade Agreement with Mexico and Canada have contributed to a loss of well-paying American jobs and the soaring trade deficit.
Democrats, who were overwhelmingly against CAFTA, also argued that its labor rights provisions were weak and would result in exploitation of workers in Central America.
But supporters pointed out that CAFTA would over time eliminate tariffs and other trade barriers that impede U.S. sales to the region, correcting the current situation in which 80 percent of Central American goods enter the United States duty-free but Americans must pay heavy tariffs.
The agreement would also strengthen intellectual property protections and make it easier for Americans to invest in the region.
"This is a test of American leadership in a changing world," said Rep. Kevin Brady (news, bio, voting record), R-Texas, a leading proponent of the agreement. "We cannot claim to be fighting for American jobs and yet turn our backs on 44 million new customers in Central America.
Newbie? If you only knew.
Whatever, your 'Later.' indicates you can't debate worth a damn.
Run along now junior.
It's one thing to make a claim, quite another to support it with facts.
What disaster has befallen our great land due to NAFTA, specifically? Is it so insignificant that you can't name it and I can't see it?
Wouldn't you have had a stronger argument against CAFTA if NAFTA truly had been bad?
Oh, did you notice that the Teamsters and SEIU just bolted from the AFL-CIO? Do you think unions are stronger in the post-NAFTA world or weaker?
You're just angry because we created 21 million jobs since NAFTA. You sound silly.
NEWSFLASH:
Dubya Bush is NOT "President of the World."
His d@mn "obligation" is to "WE THE PEOPLE' (as per Founding Father Instruction.)
Put that in your pipe and smoke it Social(ist) Conservatives! BTW: Gotta love this "awful economy" with 5% unemployment. ;-)
Not a great win for those who take vitamins, herbs and nutritional supplements. One step closer to needing a prescription to take 500mg of Vitamin C.
We're dealing with people in two realms here. The President in the realm of the mind, and these conspiracy theorists in the realm of the......the.......loins.
They'd tell you, but the OAS won't let them. Or is it the CFR? LOL!!
HA HA! How's it feel to be on the same losing side as Maxine Waters?
Oh no!!! The jackbooted thugs of the OAS just confiscated my vitamin C. Put down the bong and back away slowly. LOL!
The one true "base". We are just the window dressing.
Gee..........and we all thought he was.
Does my buying products from the business down the street mean that I run it?
THINK, F16. Stop feeling and THINK.
Does Congress plan on employing the entire populations of these countries?
"The next incremental step for the One World Govenment is checked off"
So true.
George Bush will go down in history as the man that brought the second "great depression" onto America. He must be the reincarnated Hoover or something. Everything he accomplishes, is a net loser for this country. When Sharia law is in place in Iraq, and the political capital of 9/11 is fully depleted, the fall of the Republican party will be complete. Welcome President Clinton, the beloved centrist. Thanks Gee Dub.
-Dan
Free trade benefits everyone. In this deal, everyone are winners. Hard to believe the vote was only two votes close. I thought more Democrats would be on board with this thing. After all, there were bipartisan support in passing NAFTA in 1994.
Worst economy since Hoover, Clemenza. Just awful........
That's a laugh. You just don't get the big picture. There's no way in heck a third party will ever gain control of the federal government now as the system exists. How many are in the house or senate now? But there's many out there just itching to get elected to their local or state governments. The best and most effective way to win back conservativism is to work within the system. Get new conservatives elected to the local, then state, then federal level. It's going to take years, and it's slowly making progress. It took the dems 60+ years to ruin this country. It's impossible to change it in one or two terms. Our founding fathers were brilliant in that respect. We'd be flopping laws every 4 or 8 years. But to trash everything this president does is really immature. He's the best president we've had since Reagan. Just thank your lucky stars it wasn't Gore for 9-11 or Kerry now. Think about that, Junior.
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