six the nays are three two thirds being the affirmative the rules are suspended the resolution is agreed to and without objection the motion has reconsidered is laid on the table the house's in order members if you can kindly clear the way the houses is in order all members are asked to take their conversation off the house floor and those members remaining on the floor are encouraged to take a seat all members and staff are encouraged to take their conversations off the house floor those members of staff who wish to remain on the house floor are encouraged to take a seat or we can stay here all day if the gentlewoman would suspend until we have order in the house all members and staff are encouraged to take their conversations off the house floor those members desiring to stay on the house floor are encouraged to take a seat this includes staff as well for what purpose does the gentlewoman from new york rise mr speaker by direction of the committee on rules i call up house resolution one thousand and ninety two and ask for its immediate consideration the clerk will report the resolution house calendar number two hundred and two house resolution one thousand and ninety two resolve that section one hundred and fifty one e1 and section one hundred and fifty one f1 of the trade act of one thousand nine hundred and seventy four shall not apply in the case of the bill hr five thousand seven hundred and twenty four to implement the united states columbia trade promotion agreement gentlewoman from new york is recognized for one hour thank you mr speaker and for the purpose of debate only i yield the customery thirty minutes to the gentleman from california mr dryer all time yielded during consideration of the rules for debate only i ask unanimous consent that all members have five legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks and insert extraneous materials into the record without objection so order i yield myself such time as i may consider the gentlewoman from new york's recognize thank you mr speaker hr one thousand and ninety two relates to the consideration of hr5724 the united states columbia trade promotion agreement the rules suspends the timeline per house consideration that are fasttrack law with respect to consideration of this specific trade agreement mr speaker we in congress have a fiduciary obligation to ensure that the legislation pass through this chamber represents the best interest of those that sent us here the american people to outsource that very basic legislative responsibility is to abdicate the duties constitutionally prescribed to our branch and raises questions as to why we are here in the first place situation we find ourselves in today deals directly with that issue the president has attempted to dictate the legislative schedule of the congress according to his political calendar over the objections of congressional leadership he sent congress the columbia free trade agreement in an attempt to force consideration of the measure within sixty days by using a provision known as trade promotion authority or fasttrack mr speaker i think it's important to dispel a few myths about the action that we take today the role we're taking up today does not in any way affect the columbia free trade agreement it simply removes the timeline for considering it it gives the house of representatives the right to schedule when the agreement is undertaken there are some who've called into question whether congress has the right to suspend fasttrack procedures for trade agreements one need look no further than the trade act of one thousand nine hundred and seventy four the legislation that establishes fasttrack to see that the very statute itself allows that like any rule of the house fasttrack procedures can be suspended we've also heard some raise questions about what consequences our actually here today will have on the senate's consideration of the columbia free trade agreement the answer is it will have no effect the rule today was necessitated by the partisan and irresponsible actions of the president instead of working with congress to reach agreements on this accord he instead took the unprecedented step of sending the columbia trade deal to congress over the objection of congressional leaders mr speaker the american people have been promised a lot when it comes to trade however the country whose economy has been devastated by illconceived trade deals it can only be expected that the american people will remain wary the promise of good paying work on the horizon has consistently been bashed by the reality of job loss last year's unemployment rate was fifty one and more jobs over eighty thousand were lost last month alone is yet another indicator or the worsening economic situation facing millions of america's families each day it becomes clearer that our country is teetering on the edge of economic disaster and for millions financial ruin is just around the corner it is simply not the right time to move forward with this trade agreement the american people deserve an agreement that actually responds to the needs of the american worker not makes promises that will not be met by passing the rule today we will no longer be bound by arbitrary deadlines and the house can bring up the agreement at the appropriate time and under the appropriate conditions mr speaker there's yet another reason why this free trade agreement is untimely and requires additional consideration moving toward passage we've been promised time after time and trade legislation that there would be the side agreements protecting the life and the work of labor that there would be an environmental safeguards that there were no longer be child labor none of that has come true and that certainly makes one suspicious on this trade bill and also because of the number of trade unionists who have been murdered this makes the columbia free trade agreement hard to justify giving the continued violence against the union leaders subsistence farmers indigenous peoples and afro colombians while president uribe has made some progress systematic killings are still far too prevalent to warrant the passage of this bill the persecution of trade unionists is wellknown because since the beginning of this year twelve have already been murdered rewarding the colombian government with this bill under those conditions eliminates any leverage us government has to improve the respect for human rights and the rule of law in the future to push forward in a time of economic insecurity is simply a responsible for working families at home to push forward in the midst of gross violations of human rights in columbia is simply wrong it is the prerogative of congress to suspend fasttrack if the timing necessitates it and only when it is in the best interest of the american people by passing the rule today we are reestablishing the house of representatives as coequal to the president and in doing so we're standing up for america's working families and i reserve the balance of my time gentlemen from california is recognized for thirty minutes i want to begin with my appreciation of my very good friend the distinguished chair of the committee on rules for yielding me the customary thirty minutes mr speaker i've seen many many unexpected political alliances that have been formed over the past years that i've been privileged to serve here but i've never expected to be taking up a rule that aligns with the goals of hugo chavez and south american narco terrorists the us columbia free trade agreement would deliver a significant blow to chavez's authoritarian designs for the region and the farcs terrorist agenda no one was quicker no one was quicker to condemn the president's decision to send this fta implementing legislation to congress than hugo chavez himself and so that's why mr speaker what we're considering today is nothing more than the hugo chavez rule the agreement that we hope very much we could see this institution pass would help to strengthen democratic institutions provide real economic opportunity for the colombian people and solidify the rule of law so naturally it is vehemently opposed to someone who is systematically dismantling representative democracy and free markets and resorting to corruption and crony capitalism to enrich government coffers at the expense of the working poor that is the legacy of hugo chavez and naturally mr speaker this agreement is also vehemently opposed by a terrorist organization that simply cannot continue to survive in a thriving stable and transparent democracy with strong institutions and an increasingly prosperous population the government of columbia its business leaders and its private sector unions all strongly support this agreement for the very reasons that it's opposed by the region's most nefarious forces it would be a giant leap forward in solidifying their attempts to take back their country from the violent and lawless groups that tore it apart for decades and yet here we are today considering a rule that blocks consideration of the agreement under the rules of the trade promotion authority which were established over thirty years ago many supporters of this hugo chavez rule like to argue that this rule is as much about process as it is substance i regularly make the argument that process is substance so let's examine these claims mr speaker the argument has been made by the sending up the implementing legislation without an invitation the president has violated the rules set forth by the trade act of one thousand nine hundred and seventy four and congress must take special action to assert its role mr speaker over the last few years we witnessed a number of struggles between the first two branches of government so congressional prerogative is a familiar theme these days and i'm a strong supporter of congressional prerogative as a result the argument in this case has found an overly credulous audience in this body and proven persuasive to the uninformed so i'll do my democratic colleagues the favor of reviewing the details of trade promotion authority the statute outlines very clearly the responsibilities of the administration it sets forth a number of negotiating principles it demands that the administration closely consult with congress prior to during and after the negotiating process it requires notification ninety days before entering into negotiations prior to signing it requires notice of potential changes to trade remedy laws a one hundred and eighty days in advance notification of intent to sign ninety days in advanced followed by advisory committee reports within thirty days sixty days after signing a list of laws changes is due ninety days after signing an international trade commission report is due all of this is designed to ensure that the concerns and prerogatives of the united states congress are met the administration mr speaker upheld both the letter and the spirit of the law at every single step high ranking officials met with congress a one hundred and sixty times prior to and during the negotiations they've held nearly four hundred and fifty meetings since august of two thousand and seven and taken fifty five members of congress to columbia to see the situation there for themselves to say that the administration has not upheld their end of the bargain is outright laughable now what is congress is end of the bargain under tpa to hold an up or down vote within sixty days in the house and ninety days in the senate that's the deal close consultation followed by a timely vote congress gets the final say but it has the responsibility to not let a complicated and timeconsuming negotiation to go to waste or languish indefinitely we have a negotiation that was launched four years ago concluded two years ago and signed a year and a half ago and now after all of this all of this consultation all this time democratic leadership wants to make an unprecedented never before this is done an unprecedented rule change to allow them to abrogate their role under tpa all the time while blaming the administration and claiming it's to blame the administration somehow to blame for a broken process they are just making up this nonsense as they go along mr speaker ironically on wednesday morning when the democratic leadership was announcing their intention to take this highly divisive partisan and unprecedented action i was sending a letter to several of my democratic colleagues i was reaching out to them in hopes that they would join me in a special order next week to talk about columbia as colleagues who have gone to the country for ourselves i was hoping that we could come together to simply share what we had seen firsthand in columbia under tpa the house has as i said sixty days to debate and work together to reach consensus sixty days to work in a bipartisan way i thought that our special order describing our experiences would be a constructive and congenial way to begin unfortunately the democratic leadership has cut off this substinate process before it could even begin killing any hope of bipartisanship on this issue mr speaker their actions are causing even more damage abroad they're sabotaging our relationship with our best and closest ally in south america this is an ally that faces a hostile neighbor on its border which threatens not just colombia but the very ideals of democracy and free markets this ally faces and even graver daily threat within its borders a threat that has been weakened by president uribe brave efforts but one that still exists i've gone to columbia twice in the past few months once with congress secretary gutierrez and once with a speaker's house democracy assistance commission i've seen for myself the transformation that has taken place i've seen the safe and orderly streets of bogota and medellin i've seen the new opportunities and economic growth i've met with the attorney general and discussed extensively his efforts to prosecute violent offenders and end the days of impunity for murders i have sat down with former members of the paramilitaries whose leaders have gone to jail and who are now struggling to reintegrate into society with the help of government funded social programs this is a country that has come miraculously far in just a few short years and has so far to go i find it shocking that the democratic leadership would turn their backs on our friend and ally who's accomplished so much and who asked for our continued help in accomplishing even more this week we've all heard the lengthy testimony of general patraeus and ambassador crocker a very common theme i've heard from my democratic colleagues throughout this testimony is concerned for america's lost prestige abroad they decry what they call our unilateralism and our disregard for the concerns for our allies and yet today they propose to flagrantly commit what the colombian vicepresident the colombian vicepresident has called a slap in the face editorial boards across this country have similarly slammed this action the washington post comparative to telling columbia to drop dead the las vegas review journal says that what we're doing is stabbing our trading partners in the back mr speaker the democratic leadership is determined to isolate our greatest ally in south america and weaken the region's strongest advocate for democracy flouting national security and our international credibility the damage to our interests and our leadership will be significant and lasting our friends and allies will realize that our word at the negotiating table cannot be trusted and the rules can be changed in the middle of the game according to the whims of electoral politics mr speaker this rule must be defeated for the sake of our national security interests our leadership in the international community and our responsibilities as an institution i urge my colleagues to vote no and with that i reserved the balance of my time gentlewoman from new york mr speaker i'm pleased to hear three minutes to the gentleman from new york the chairman of the committee on ways and means mr rangel the gentlemen from new york is recognized for three minutes without objection thank you and thank you so much madam chair for giving me this opportunity i could not disagree with my friend from california more and there's no one in this house that i believe that the administration has not spoken to more in concerns of four pieces of trade legislation and i doubt whether there's anyone that has the compassionate concern more than i about the people of columbia who i've learned to admire respect and work with over the years not only with their political problems but certainly their fight with narcotics and trying to preserve democracy in that country the president has violated protocol in terms of not fulfilling the outlines that we've been using historically so what i have to say applies whether you're democrat or republican if in the rules that the distinguished chairman of the rules committee has outlined to us there's an area of consultation before the president actually sends a complex piece of legislation to the house which is more conducive of bringing us together saying to the house that you have ninety days and if you don't do anything in ninety days and it's the house of representative that killed a bill designed to help our friends of this area or to say mr president you forgot to consult with us you forgot to consult with the ways and means committee you did not deal with some of the issues we have and so as you've changed the rule and just sending it over saying it's your responsibility in the house what we're saying is that let's give the house more time and not a timetable to see what can we do to facilitate an atmosphere that would allow the members at least to know what's in the bill it is really strange that the ranking member of the rules committee has presented us the speech this morning that is so similar that i don't remember the last time anyone in the administration is talking about the bill oh hugo chavez goes to sleep every night wondering what he's going to do and cash oh my god when we should vote for the people of columbia and make him against them and make him a big threat in the community i'm not saying these things shouldn't be consented but how many people republican or democrat has the slightest idea what's in the trade bill why not give them an opportunity to make this decision not based on forty days fifty days or ninety days but for us to bring up these things and when has anyone ever heard that they didn't have a crisis in times of peace and tranquility against terrorism and assassination and colombia the question we may ask is you really doing a man that i respect as much as he should should he be doing more but the real question could i your time is expired i yield gentleman one more minute thank you gentleman from new york is recognized for one minute the real question i think we should ask our friend is that we know you have a problem we have problems in every major city why don't you allow us to share with you some of the techniques we have some of the technology work with your law enforcement so at the end of the day those who claim that it's murder that stops us from voting on a trade bill that we will be able to say that we working with them so i hope that you rethink the vote this vote is going to apply to every president every speak of the house that deals with us do you believe they can change the rules and then we say that they dictate the legislative calendar of the house of representatives i think not you change the procedure we defend the rules of the house and what are we giving up we are giving us an opportunity one to find out what's in the trade bill and three which is most important what can we do to resolve the issues that forced members to be against it so i appreciate the words of my friends from california but you have to do that you're a ranking member i remember when i had to say things that i had to say let's work together on this gentleman's time has expired gentlemen from california speaker this time i'm very happy to yield two minutes to a hardworking fighter for freedom member of the rules committee mr diazbalart gentleman from florida is recognized for two minutes mr speaker what the majority leadership of this congress what this rule is saying to columbia today is you voted to tie your economy to the united states but sorry we don't care you're at war with narco terrorists armed to the teeth by drug money and given sanctuary by neighboring governments sorry we don't care you've voted not once twice overwhelmingly to support your brave president and his government and the colombian armed forces as they fight the narco terrorists and defend your rule of law sorry we don't care well i say to the people of columbia mr speaker like the president of the united states many of us here in congress are with you and you are not alone despite this day of legislative action that will live in infamy gentlemen yields back the balance of his time gentlewoman from new york i'm pleased to yield four minutes to the gentleman from massachusetts an expert in this issue and a member of the committee on rules mr mcgovern the gentleman from massachusetts is recognized for four minutes i thank the gentle lady for her leadership on this important debate and i rise in strong support of this rule mr speaker the policies of the bush administration have produced an american economy in crisis people are losing their jobs fuel prices are at a record high food prices have dramatically increased confidence in the economy is at an all time low now maybe this is a radical idea mr speaker but shouldn't the energy passion and focus of the administration be on fixing these problems this administration has turned a cold shoulder to the plight of american workers they have opposed efforts to extend unemployment benefits they have no plan to help forty five million americans get health insurance they have even opposed expanding health benefits to children their absolute indifference towards our fellow citizens is stunning it takes my breath away well that must change the speaker of the house has the right to prioritize legislation she has stated quite clearly that we want to continue to work with president uribe to make progress on improving human rights the rule of law ending impunity breaking columbia's political and military ties to drug lords and paramilitary groups and protecting and promoting basic labor rights mr speaker if the colombian fta came up today for a vote i would strongly oppose it i have repeatedly told the colombian government that i am always willing to reassess my position but when it comes to issues like human rights i refuse to be a cheap date the un the red cross and us and columbia and human rights groups all describe a worsening humanitarian crisis in colombia the number of internally displaced grew by twenty seven over the past year due to increasing violence throughout the country and over each of the past three years murders of civilians by the colombian army have been increasing violence against trade unions continues in an extremely high level and the vast majority of cases of murders of labor leaders remain unsolved it is true mr speaker that murderers of trade unionists in two thousand and seven were about half of what they were in two thousand and six even then columbia had the highest rate of trade union murders in the world but death threats attacks and disappearances skyrocketed but this one year hiatus in the murder rate may be over in just the first twelve weeks of two thousand and eight seventeen trade unionists have already been assassinated mr speaker like many of my house colleagues i have traveled to columbia several times over the past seven years i have gone to putumayo not just to fly over fumigated territory but to meet with hundreds of human rights victims and campesino on the ground i've been to barranca bermejo sincelejo and popayan i've traveled to san jose to apartado and to arauca where violence from all armed actors reign supreme and community leaders are murdered like flies i visited the slums of bogota where the poor and the internally displaced struggled to survive i spent hours in meetings with human rights groups with families whose loved ones are held in brutal captivity by the farc and with victims of violence by the paramilitaries and the colombian army i've met with the constitutional court religious and labor leaders with indigenous peoples and afro colombians and dozens of government and military officials there is so much more to columbia than the administrations day and a half excursion tours to medellin and cartagena mr speaker congress must insist upon improvements in human rights in columbia and not paint a rosy picture simply to secure a trade agreement us policy must take responsibility for their behavior of colombian security forces trained with us tax dollars take into account the continued suffering of the civilian population in the midst of an ongoing conflict and support the rights of victims after a decade of atrocities i remained dedicated to the columbia people i will never advocate walking away from columbia i also strongly support the right of the speaker of the house to take up trade agreements when it makes the most sense to do so i urge my colleagues to adopt this rule and to remain engaged with columbia on these points gentleman from california speaker for unanimous consent request an opposition to hugo chavez rule i yield to my friend from michigan mr kamp thank you gentlemen gentlemen from michigan's recognized for how long asking consent to revise and extend my remarks i'm sorry the gentleman's recognized for how long no period of time at all oh okay gentleman's recognized thank you mr speaker i ask unanimous consent to revise and extend my remarks without objection so ordered speaker i yield a three minutes to the distinguished ranking member of the committee on ways and means who's a strong opponent of the hugo chavez rule the gentlemen from shreveport mr mccrary gentlemen from louisiana is recognized for three minutes thank you mr speaker i strongly oppose this extraordinary unprecedented and i believe dangerous change to the house rules congress first gave trade promotion authority to the president in one thousand nine hundred and seventy four in order to allow him to engage directly with our competitors around the world to level the playing field eliminate barriers to american exports and create jobs for american workers passing this rule would undermine that authority and damage the united states credibility abroad because our trading partners could rightfully question the commitments of our government in negotiating trade agreements i've heard it said that this rule will allow us to consider this agreement this year after the election but what this rule would do is to eliminate the certainty under tpa that congress will vote on this agreement it doesn't guarantee a vote but anytime certain it doesn't push the vote off until after the election it simply turns off the clock entirely even postponing congressional consideration of this agreement does tremendous damage to america's competitiveness right now canada the european union are completing trade agreements with columbia so as a result they will gain a competitive advantage over american products columbia will buy tractors mining equipment and fertilizer from canada france and germany instead of from illinois georgia and texas chairman rangel my good friend said well nobody's talking about the economic benefits they're all talking about hugo chavez well my good friend knows that that's not the case and besides the reason we're not talking about it all that much is because it's a no brainer from an economic standpoint i'm mystified as to why any member would oppose this agreement when all it does is level the playing field for american workers today american workers compete against imports from columbia that enter our country virtually duty free while our exports going to columbia face high tariffs this agreement eliminates those obstacles to our goods and services and supports american jobs i agree with chairman rangel's assessment last month at denying a vote on this agreement wouldn't help address the concerns about labor violence in colombia in fact this agreement would help colombian labor unions the agreement includes robust and forcible international labor organization core labor standards standards included with the strong support of the democratic leadership to require columbia to continue the tremendous progress it has made to improve labor rights i plead with my colleagues today do not make a vote which will undermine the credibility of the united states making it more difficult for any future administration to eliminate barriers to the sale of products made by us vote no on this rule gentlemen yields back the balance of his time gentlewoman from new york mr speaker i'm pleased to yield one minute to gentleman from texas and member of the committee on ways and means mr doggett gentleman from texas is recognized for one minute thank you we certainly do need a balanced enlightened trade policy but this debate is not about trade it's about the guiding principle of the bush administration arrogance arrogance that has served our country so poorly this president personally proclaiming himself to be a uniter not a divider at the beginning quickly transformed himself into the decider and that lone decider has unleashed one divisive disastrous decision after another on our land mr chenay's current chief of staff he summed up the situation very directly we're going to push and push and push until some larger force makes us stop he said well today our speaker backed up by this house says stop the go it alone disdain for allies dismissal of anyone who has a different point of view has left this white house isolated it's left us with a disastrous war and now mr bush's recession we'll secure a more responsible enlightened trade policy but we won't secure it until we traded it for a new president gentleman's time has expired gentleman from california i'm happy to yield one and a half minutes to my rules committee colleague gentleman from pasco washington who's vigorously opposed to the hugo chavez rule gentlemen from washington state is recognized for one and a half minutes thank you mr speaker and i thank my friend from california for yielding mr speaker we need to stop this unprecedented attempt to rewrite trade laws and jeopardize fair trade for our america's farmers washington state is the most trade dependent state in the nation one in three washington jobs is tied to international trade since one thousand nine hundred and ninety one columbia has had open free entry into the us for many of their products while steep tariffs block our farmers access into columbia this agreement would immediately immediately mr speaker eliminate tariffs for washington state apples cherries pears potatoes wheat beef and more if the issue is a better way if the issue is the economy what better way to stimulate our nation's economy than to level the playing field and wipe out unfair trade barriers for our farmers mr speaker representatives and senators are elected to vote so let's do our job in vote on the columbia agreement what the house is now considering is an effort to delay to hide to slam the door and shut the door on free and fair trade that millions of americans jobs depend on i urge my colleagues to vote no on the hugo chavez rule and i yield back my time gentlemen yields back the balance of his time the gentlewoman from new york thank you mr speaker i'm happy to yiled two minutes to the gentlemen from vermont a valued member of the rules committee mr welts gentlemen from vermont recognized for two minutes mr speaker i thank our distinguished chair there's a fundamental issue that we face in this role and it's this does congress seed its authority under the constitution to the executive or does it exercise it mr speaker from a distance i have only been here a little over a year i watched with dismay as a citizen seeing congress year after year relinquish its authority turn that over to the executive not do its job of accountability and oversight not do its job on trade essentially not exercise the constitutional authority that we are custodians of each and every one of the four hundred and thirty five members who have been elected the president exercise his prerogative under a rule that was enacted by this house in one thousand nine hundred and seventy four but against the advice of the speaker against the advice of the senate majority leader the president did what he could do and that is send over on his own timetable a trade agreement when it wasn't ready to be considered and the speaker in her judgment and i support this stood up for the prerogatives of this legislative branch where we have the responsibility to be the final voice of the people who sent us here bottom line question is will congress assert the authority that it has under the constitution we can exercise it best circumstances we do it in cooperation and in consultation with the executive but if it's a unilateral my way or the highway approach that has been so often employed by this chief executive then it's incumbent on us to stand up and assert the constitutional responsibility we have i yield the balance of my time gentleman yields back the balance of his time the gentleman from california speakers to speak in opposition of the hugo chavez rule i'm happy to yield two minutes to my good friend from roseville california the ranking member of the trade subcommittee to mr herder gentleman from california is recognized two minutes thank you mr speaker this procedural vote if it's successful congress would be rebuffing the columbia agreement through technical gimmicks and rejecting a level playing field for american workers colombian workers and producers already have free access to the us market but we don't have reciprocity our manufacturers and farmers need this agreement to sell their products create jobs and compete against foreign producers a vote for this rule is a vote against american workers period since the agreement was signed nearly five hundred days ago congressional republicans in the white house have tried to work with the democratic majority to approve this agreement we reached a bipartisan consensus nearly a year ago to ensure congressional consideration of this agreement in sending up the agreement the president said that he was open to continuing discussions with the democrats the democratic leadership through this rule has firmly shut the door to any discussions members should be keenly aware of the very negative foreign policy ramifications of this vote this rule would be cheered by belligerent leftist guerrillas abetted by venezuelan strongman hugo chavez who seek to undermine the democratically elected colombian government with menacing ramifications this rule is a public slap in the face to a loyal ally at the epicenter of a philosophical war between democracy and totalitarianism capitalism and socialism president uribe made it very clear that the best way to support columbia struggle for economic and political security is to pass this agreement today's action with gentleman's time has expired gentlewoman from california i urge a no vote gentlewoman from california mr speaker i'm pleased to yield two minutes to the gentleman from michigan chairman of the waste subcommittee on trade mr levin gentlemen for michigan's recognized for two minutes without objection trade policy under the bush administration has been badly off track the approach of the administration and the then republican majority in congress was to go their own and dismissed by partisan effort starting with a side letter to the jordan fda thwarting enforcement of worker rights provisions negotiated by the clinton administration in the cases of morocco bahrain and oman fta it was left to democrats to negotiate with governments of those countries to bring their laws into compliance with international labor standards before congressional vote with no help from the administration and we all remember cafta where the administration's approach was go it alone from the beginning through the end with false claims that the other nations were already in compliance with international standards in last year with the loss of a congressional majority the bush administration was forced to include fully enforceable labor and environmental standards in the peru fta and when democrats press for peru to bring into compliance with the language of the agreement the administration attacked democrats and refuse to even participate in the changes that peru made in its legal structure at that time democrats made clear that columbia was different from peru with the level of violence against workers impunity from prosecution and laws that did not meet international standards and the sustainable progress was required before consideration the administration kept on insisting that the status quo was good enough and has done nothing to address these concerns urged by both the house and senate democratic leadership not to proceed with the columbia fta under present circumstances the administration decided once again to go its own way this rule reflects the speaker's response to assert a congressional role on international trade under the constitution of the united states of america gentleman's time has expired the gentleman from california share how much time is remaining on each side gentleman from california has thirteen minutes remaining and the gentlewoman from new york has eleven and a half minutes remaining gentlemen from california mr speaker i'm happy to hold thirty seconds to my very good friend my california colleague the ranking member of the trade subcommittee the foreign affairs committee mr royce gentleman from california is recognized for thirty seconds thank you mr speaker there are many reasons why what the majority is doing today is gratefully harmful to our security columbia is a close ally under siege and as the washington post points out today score this action as a boost to venezuela's agenda of destabilizing democracy in columbia by all accounts the colombian agreement is a big plus for american exports and american employment with a majority is doing is giving near complete free market access to columbia and taking nothing for our workers this agreement would cut tariffs eighty on usb fifteen on us built tractors your time has expired gentlewoman from new york thank you mr speaker i'm delighted to yield one minute to the gentlewoman from california the distinguished speaker of the house of representatives miss pelosi gentlewoman from california the speaker of the house is recognized for one minute thank you very much mr speaker i thank the gentleman lady for yielding i commend her for a very distinguished leadership of the rules committee and for bringing this very important rule to the floor today mr speaker the reason that we are here today is one that i wish could have been avoided and i think it's important to put it in context because i've heard our colleagues talk about the merits of the bill or talk about any precedent on rules and i've heard them talk about different things but i think it's important to know what brought us here today on monday i received a call from the president of the united states always an honor to receive a call from the president this is after months of our going back and forth with members of the cabinet and the rest about if they would send up for the columbia free trade agreement the president informed me that he would be sending the bill over the next day i recommended against it i said mr president you shouldn't send it for two reasons if you send it and we take it up it will lose now you think it's very important to pass the columbia free trade agreement and in the congress we have people who share your view or others who share your view that we should pass it as soon as we address the concerns of america's working people and others who will never before it but let's just talk about where the possibilities are for passing it and those possibilities are greatly diminished if you send that bill to the congress under these circumstances apart from the fact that it would be a breach of protocol let's just talk about that a successful trade agenda depends on joint partnership between the congress and the administration as was the case recently in the peru free trade agreement had the administration followed the established protocol of congressional consultation relating to the submission of any free trade agreement we would not have to take this action today by his actions on tuesday the president abandoned the traditions of consultation that have governed past agreements in fact the action the house takes today is more in keeping with the spirit of the rules than the white house is move to force a vote but as i said just from a practical standpoint mr president you simply don't have the votes and if we are to try to arrive at a place where the concerns of the american people are addressed we need more time to do that i also said what i've said many times to the president if we are going to be successful in passing a trade agreement we have to first tell the american people that we have an economic positive economic agenda that addresses their aspirations addresses their concerns about their economic security this bill has been around for a while and matters have only gotten worse in our economy the former chair of the fed has said we're in the throws of a recession the current chair of the federal reserve last week the end of last week testified to congress that there's a possible recession many people i mean the joblessness numbers of last week again pointed to a steeper downturn in our economy now you control your time with all due respect to the gentlemen i'll use mine the fact is as i said to the president many people in america now are concerned about losing their jobs they're concerned about losing their homes most people won't but most people are concerned about losing their living standard when the cost of groceries and gasoline and the cost of healthcare and education and other staples continues to go up and the purchasing power of the income that people have is either stagnant or going down they have concerns about their economic security so let's have a timetable for the american people let's have a timetable on our consideration of a trade bill that addresses the concerns and is it compatible with the needs of america's working families that is i think the only fair thing to do president ignored those concerns and sent the bill over i pledged to this body as speaker of the house that at the appropriate time if many of these concerns are addressed in terms of america's working families that we can take up legislation for such a trade agreement some have concerns about the content of the agreement others have concerns about the treatment of labor organizers in colombia and it's a real concern and one admitted to by the administration and the colombian government their differences of opinion as to how this is changing but let's see how we can work together to make that change distinguish california colleague would yield having control of the time i will retain the control of the time the important point here is whether it's the substance of the bill whether it's the conditions in columbia they are to be obviously major considerations but what we're saying to the president we can't do everything much about some of these things we certainly can address the provisions in the bill but i'm not here to talk about that now what we can do something about what we haven't done enough about is to send a positive economic agenda forth and these are not difficult most of what we're talking to the president about are part of what has passed this congress and mostly an overwhelming bipartisan way whether we're talking about rebuilding the infrastructure of america whether we're talking about investments in an innovation agenda our commitment to competitiveness to keep america number one and that innovation begins in the classroom and we have to have a strong commitment to the education of our people whether we're talking about tax credits for our energy bill which we passed here which would immediately create jobs now if we don't do it we will lose jobs that exist now same thing with infrastructure if we don't make those investments of projects we'll have to discontinue but many more are ready dirt is ready to fly the projects are in the pipeline there is a way to create good paying jobs right here in america we've passed the legislation the vehicles are there for us to do it and at the same time we have to address the concerns of those who have lost their jobs whether it's unemployment insurance or summer jobs program for their children or other initiatives so this is nothing new and in fact the whole idea that we were going into recession is nothing new to most families across america it took a while for the president and his administration to accept that fact and when they did we could talk and when they did we could talk we could work together as mr baner and i did with the secretary of the treasury to put together a stimulus package that had strong bipartisan support and as the president has said has not gone into effect yet and when it does i know it will have inject demand into the economy create jobs and i think stimulate the economy but since we did that matters have only become worse necessitating for us to do more and we certainly should do more for our economy and we certainly should do more for our economy before we pass another trade agreement it's all possible in the days that are before us but instead of having the president's timetable we have the timetable of the house of representatives we have a timetable for america's working families and nothing that we are doing here now should be misconstrued in terms of our attitude toward bolivia excuse me columbia bolivia too but columbia columbia is our friend is a neighbor in the hemisphere the relationship between colombia and the united states is an important one we have concerns about workers in columbia and we respect the leadership of president uribe and as i said to the ambassador yesterday i hope you will convey that message to the president and when you do i hope you will also tell him we congratulate him on his excellent representation in the united states and ambassador service here so this isn't about ending anything it's about having a timetable that respects the concerns the aspirations the challenges faced by the american people we are the people's house their timetable should be our timetable i urge our colleagues to support the rule thank you mr speaker gentlewoman yields back the balance of her time the gentlemen from california mr speaker i yield myself ten seconds before i yield to the leader to say that i had hoped to ask the speaker if in fact the votes are not there why it is that we had to do this the day after the present set this message up why we could not have waited forty five days was my hope that the speaker could answer that question for us unfortunately she did not with that i yield one minute to the distinguished republican leader our friend from westchester mr baner gentlemen from ohio the minority leader is recognized for one minute let me thank my colleague from california for yielding and say mr speaker and to my colleagues that our economy is struggling families and businesses are dealing with the rising cost of living and certainly the job market has slowed and in on a time like this we should be working together and as the speaker said she and i came together and our members came together on both sides of the aisle earlier this year to pass an economic growth package and those checks will be going out to americans here beginning in the middle of may and will continue to go on through the end of july these checks again are not out in the marketplace we hope there'll be out there soon and we hope that will help revive our struggling economy but the action that's being taken here today is going to do nothing more than to hurt american businesses and american workers speaker earlier went on about the fact that the typical protocol here was not followed that the president sent this bill to the congress without the approval of the speaker of the house now i think it's time to set the record straight on exactly what has occurred there have been hundreds and hundreds of meetings over the last fifteen months trying to come to an agreement on how this bill shall be considered there've been changes made there have been side agreements that have come forth as a result of this and over the course of the last six or eight weeks there have been serious conversations between the administration and the speaker of the house about the consideration of the columbia free trade agreement and the reason this bill was sent up here this week was because not one time over these six weeks has the speaker agreed or made a commitment to the administration that this bill will be considered this year president's been willing to work with the congress the conversations again have been going on for fifteen months but not one time during that fifteen months was there ever a commitment by the democrat majority to bring this bill to the floor for a vote in the house i don't think the president had any choice but to bring to send that free trade agreement to the congress and force congress to act and so what do we do we don't go try to work to see if we can get the votes we don't try in a bipartisan way to move this agreement no we're going to go in and cheat we're going to change the rules under which the consideration of this free trade agreement should operate between the house and the senate we're not even been given a chance and anybody that thinks that while we're just going to push this off for a couple of months that is nonsense this vote today is a vote to kill the columbia free trade agreement nothing more and nothing less the speaker points out well this president did this and frankly there were other priorities in the house let me tell you what when we passed the andean trade preferences act earlier this year virtually everything that comes from columbia to the united states comes here duty free the colombian free trade agreement will allow us manufacturers and us workers who produce these goods to send our goods to columbia virtually tariff free we're doing nothing here but hurting american workers and american businesses why i think the speaker made it very clear this action today is nothing short than of political blackmail the speaker made it clear that she has her agenda she wants the president to deal with her on her agenda and we're not going to move this bill until the president deals with her agenda that is not the way to deal with our trading partners around the world i've listened to candidates that are running for president especially candidates on the democrat side who have talked about the fact the united states needs to be more willing to engage the rest of the world the we need to listen to we need to reach out to countries around the world there's probably no place that's more important for us to reach out than south america here we have a country in south america who is doing their best to fight off a terrorist in their own country a message that we can send not only to columbia but to the rest of south america that we want to engage in them exactly as many of these contenders for the democrat nomination points of the day have made what does this say to columbia what does it say that to south america and what does it say about free and fair trade around the world this is a precipitous step in the wrong direction we're sending a very bad message for our partners around the world all in the name of election year politics i think that it's regrettable it's despicable if we're going to have a vote here why don't we put the columbia free trade bill up for a vote let the house work its will on that bill because the fact is i think it would pass gentlemen yields back the balance of his time the gentlewoman from new york mr speaker i'm pleased to yield one and a half minutes to the gentleman from oregon mr defazio gentleman from oregon is recognized for one and a half minutes for a republican minority and particularly the gentlemen from california who whine day in and day out about their inability to offer amendments even the most minor of bills i've never seen a group so eager to give up their right in fact the right of every member of this house to offer an amendment to this trade agreement in a rush to rubber stamp yet another failed socalled free trade agreement as one republican pointed out yeah it's been the policy since one thousand nine hundred and seventy four guess what one thousand nine hundred and seventy four we were the manufacturing colossus of the world we ran trade surpluses we had a robust middle class in america it was bad policy then but after twenty four years of that bad trade policy our manufacturing's cut in half the middleclass is losing ground they're unemployed we're borrowing two billion a day from the rest of the world including communist china to buy things that we used to make here in america and they think we should do more of the same i've heard this and played this game before i've never voted for one but every president since i've been here republican and democrat says hey we negotiated this deal in secret you can't fail us now yeah it's got big problems but we'll fix them later guess what later never comes because this congress until today has never had a spine to stand up to the special interests that are pushing failed trade policies policies that failed the american people the benefit a few on wall street this is about main street the houses growing as fine today this is a great day and the beginning of a new trade policy for the american people gentleman from california speaker to speak in opposition to the hugo chavez rule i'm happy to yield a minute and a half to my very good friend from morris illinois gentleman's recognized for one and a half minutes mr speaker i rise in opposition to this rule why is latin america all today watching this debate in this house because today the house representatives is going to tell the world how we treat our best friends how we treat our best friend and latin american who is our best friend in latin america the democracy of columbia who was america's most reliable partner in counternarcotics and counterterrorism in latin america the democracy of colombia which elected national leaders the most popular elected official in all of this hemisphere the president of columbia president uribe why because he succeeded in reducing violence today seventy three of colombian say they feel more secure and more safe than they did prior to president uribe six years ago in fact columbia today is safer than washington dc today this house will vote to set columbia aside and we'll turn our back on our best friend in latin america why again is latin america watching because leftist us hugo chavez and his proxies the narco trafficking farc had declared they want to defeat the us columbia trade promotion agreement they can't defeat president uribe the ballot box but they want to in this congress prime minister of canada said it best if united states turns its back on its friends in colombia this will set back our cause far more than any latin american dictator could hope to achieve our friends in democratic majority say this is all about election year politics but we must understand that turning our back on colombians gentleman's time has expired has longterm consequences throughout latin america gentlewoman from new york thank you mr speaker i'm pleased to yield two minutes to the gentleman from illinois member the ways and means committee and chair of the democratic caucus mr emmanuelle gentleman from illinois is recognized two minutes thank you mr speaker i'll thank my colleagues for lending the time we're having a conversation here about trade and globalization and about how to make sure that in fact globalization is a winwin strategy for the american people and we're talking about columbia but what we really are talking about is the effects of globalization on the american economy and in fact today if you a look at the washington post business page it's a new survey out showing the middleclass feeling worse in this period of time than ever before more squeezed by rising costs energy is up nearly two bucks a gallon since two thousand and one nearly two up healthcare costs have doubled college costs are up sixty four and yet the median household income in this country shrunk one thousand one hundred the middleclass are feeling squeezed globalization can be a good thing trade can be a good thing but if you don't have an agenda to make sure americans win in that globalization you're going to get a squeeze on the middle class where they resist the attempts to open up markets to american made products what we need here and what we are seeking here is a new deal for the new economy for the american workers and that means when healthcare costs are up like that we make sure there's healthcare security for the american people which is why it was wrong to veto andean health care bill for americans children to give ten million children's parents who work full time healthcare it is why it is wrong that when we have an extension of the hope and lifetime college credit so americans can get to community colleges can get to chances for their kids to go to college it is wrong to allow that tax credit to end is why we are trying to make sure that in fact american people have a retirement security and a universal four hundred and one so those who work time seventy five million americans who do not have a savings plan outside of social security have in fact a 401k like the rest of us it's an agenda to make sure there's an economic security plan for the american can i have an additional thirty seconds your time has expired i will yield gentlemen an additional thirty seconds gentleman from illinois recognized for thirty seconds thank you so what we're talking about because no conversation about trade is ever about trade it's about the standard of living on the middle class in this country globalization can be a good thing if you have an agenda and just trade alone is not an agenda to make sure that the middle class of this country that built this country since world war ii are strengthened to compete and win in this globalized economy and what we're insuring today is that when we have a fact a trade deal that is not seen as a cost to the american people but seen as an opportunity to succeed in that world and we today are making sure that there's a winwin strategy to that globalization gentleman from california speakers i prepare it to yield to the republican whip i'd like to yield for unanimous consent to my good friend from connecticut mr chase gentlemen from connecticut thank you i'm asking for concent to revise and extend my remarks in opposition to this resolution without objections speaker with that i'd like to yield three minutes to my good friend from springfield missouri who will vigorously oppose this hugo chavez rule gentleman from missouri is recognized i thank the speaker and i thank the gentleman i too vigorously opposed this rule it seems to me the house today is doing two things that this congress has done too often one is if you don't like the rules you change the rules and two is we continue to take actions that reduce confidence in dealing with the united states when you change the rules other countries just simply don't want to deal with you five hundred days since this treaty this agreement was negotiated in good faith changes made sense then and elements that dealt with the environment and labor that the colombians went back at our request and made sixteen months of talking to the leaders on the majority about what was the best day to bring this agreement now five hundred days old to the floor of the house and it's not going to happen today or it's apparently not going to happen anytime in the near future we had no trade agreements before we went to the process of trade promotion authority because nobody wants to trade with you if they don't think you're dealing in good faith nobody wants to deal with you if they don't think you're dealing in good faith this is about jobs it's about middleclass jobs that my good friend from illinois just talked about i mean how much more middleclass jobs could you try to provide when we open their market to us seventeen years ago we opened our market to them this is not a debate about whether we can compete with colombian products or whether their workers are being treated fair their workers already make products that come in here every day with virtually no tariff this agreement would let our workers send products there with no tariff eighty immediately would have no tariff very quickly one hundred would have no tariff the eight thousand six hundred caterpillar jobs in illinois would be sending their products to columbia without the fifteen tariff why wouldn't we want to give those eight thousand six hundred labor union workers a fifteen advantage that they don't have today and when you change the rules bad things can happen this is about manufacturing jobs it's about union jobs it's about middleclass jobs and of course it's about our closest ally in south america the second biggest country in south america a country that for seventeen years has had access for our markets and in the last decade has worked closely with us to try to solve their problems and the problems of this hemisphere this is a huge mistake today it is the wrong signal to send not just to columbia but anybody who's thinking about working with the united states of america you've got to deal with countries in good faith we are not doing that we're not dealing with our own workers in good faith i hope we do everything we can to defeat this rule i yield back gentleman's time has expired gentlewoman from new york speaker i'm delighted to yield one and a half minutes to the gentlewoman from california ms cabs gentlewoman from california is recognized for one and one half minutes i thank my colleague mr speaker i rise in strong support of house resolution one thousand and ninety two columbia is an ally and a friend and i commend president uribe for reducing violence and unrest in columbia however columbia still leads the world in trade unionists murders according to human rights watch seventeen have been killed this year alone and more than four hundred over the last six years hardly any of these murders have been investigated or prosecuted this is not only about human rights this is about domestic responsibility how can we try to create jobs when unemployment is climbing and our economy is in recession we need to expand and strengthen trade adjustment existence we must educate and train american workers to better compete in the global economy the president had a choice he chose to force a vote and today he is getting that vote a vote declaring that strong arming congress will not work a vote for american workers and their families a vote for human rights i urge my colleagues to vote yes and stand up for working families both here at home and in columbia i yield back gentlewoman yields back the balance of her time the gentleman from california the speaker at this time i'm happy to yield a minute to the greatest proponents of free trade the a member of the ways and means committee gentleman from woodlands texas mr brady gentleman from texas is recognized for one minute thank you mr chair america's status in the world that has never been smaller than this day who could imagine the world's largest economy cowering from colombia behind the walls of protectionism who could imagine the world's greatest democracy too frightened to even debate even consider this agreement who could imagine that this congress would send a signal to the world that we are not just an unreliable leader in trade we are an unreliable negotiator in trade it is embarrassing and it is dangerous and it will cost america jobs today columbia can sell their products into america with no tariffs no restrictions but when we try to sell our products we find barriers and costs my workers in texas want to know why can they buy products in columbia at the local mob but we can't sell our products around this world columbia is a strong trading partner they reduced violence they've been embraced rule of law they are a strong ally they deserve an up or down vote expired gentlewoman from new york speaker i yield one and a half minutes to the gentlewoman from texas ms jackson lee gentlewoman from texas is recognized for one and a half minutes revise and extend without objection i thank the gentle lady from new york and i am so much in favor of this process that i had to bring two constitutional books to the floor and to be seen by my colleagues i support this initiative because it restores the constitutional authority to this floor and to the speaker of the house and for someone who has voted for trade bills that are fair i asked my colleagues to recognize that we have an obligation to the american people for if we look at the month of march the third month of declining numbers of us jobs with losses widespread across all sectors and the biggest loss is coming in construction and manufacturing the experts including federal chairman ben bernanki and former fed chairman alan greenspan have confirmed the serious challenges to the united states economy one former labor secretary has also uttered the word depression this is an opportunity for us to be able to establish our authority on the floor to work through legislation and to ask the question of my friends on the other side of the aisle if trade bills are so effective why are we losing jobs why are people without employment why are we in this economic crisis and so we're standing up for american workers we're standing up for the workers in columbia i have the greatest respect for president uribe i look forward to working on legislation that addresses the labor concerns working class indigenous colombians and that this is a twoway street my friends on the other side of the aisle can not prove that ignoring the constitution will get us jobs vote for i yield back gentleman from california speaker as i yield a minute to my friend from washington i'd say to my friend from texas that if she turns to page one thousand one hundred and thirty six of the book that she held up she would see that that has the rule that we were aggregating with this vote that we're about to take with that i yield a minute to my good friend from auburn washington gentleman from washington state is recognized for one minute thank you gentleman for yielding and thank you mr speaker as a representative from the state of washington the most dependent state on trade in the nation i strongly urge my colleagues to reject this unprecedent rule and allow the colombian free trade agreement to come to the floor to a vote i traveled to columbia last weekend to see firsthand the progress that the country is making i met with union members who support this agreement i met with union members who oppose this agreement i met with president uribe i met with the labor minister i met with the attorney general there i met with the people who have been disarmed and have left the paramilitary organizations i've met with shantytown residents you want to talk about human rights those people are the poorest people in the world those are the people that we can help with this agreement not only can we help poor people here in the united states of america but this is designed to help poor people struggling people in columbia human rights ladies and gentlemen is worldwide and we give them jobs we give them hope thank you mr speaker i yield gentleman's time has expired gentlewoman from new york mr speaker may i inquire from my colleague how many requests for time he has remaining we have let's see i have a long list of people here mr speaker i would say to my friend the distinguished chair of the committee on rules and may i inquire how much time we have remaining mr speaker gentleman from california has four and three quarters minutes remaining and the gentlewoman from new york as five minutes but may i inquire my friend how many speakers she has remaining i have one more who is not presently on the floor so i reserve my time i'd be happy to use the five minutes if the gentlewoman would like to yield me the five minutes cause we got lots of people who feel strongly about that and i know we can expand our thoughts on this with your five minutes i think i'll reserve it thank you very much for the offer gentlewoman has reserved the balance of her time the gentleman of california consideration why don't i mr speaker yield one minute to my very good friend from miami who is the distinguished ranking member of the committee on foreign affairs ms ross layton gentlewoman from florida is recognized for one minute thank you so much i thank you gentlemen for the time and mr speaker i deeply regret the effort today to postpone timely action on the us columbia free trade agreement for over a year advocates of this agreement have worked tirelessly with our counterparts to bring it to the floor for an up and down vote we have the power to make a difference we can make a difference not only here at home but in columbia and throughout the hemisphere as well columbia is a close ally fighting our common enemy of drugs and antidemocratic regimes in the region we must take a stand for our national security and against the growing influence of iran and other rogue states in the hemisphere the choice is clear this rule change is nothing but an abdication of responsibility and a decision to leave the hard decisions for another day with the colombian fta american businesses will benefit greatly our ally will be strengthened and our interest in the hemisphere will be secured i urge my colleagues to join me in vote no gentlewoman's time has expired gentlewoman from new york to reserve gentlewoman from new york continues to reserve her time the gentleman from california speaker at this time i happy to yield a minute to my very good friend and a passionate free trader the gentleman from texas mr hensarling gentleman from texas is recognized for one minute i thank the gentlemen for yielding mr speaker i find it fascinating that the democrat majority this week can find time to rename post offices but somehow cannot find the time to vote on a trade agreement to help create more american jobs we're talking about a trade agreement to where over ninety of colombian goods come into our country duty free yet only three of our goods go into their country duty free we're trying to level the playing field here mr speaker we're trying to create more american jobs what could be more fair and mr speaker i had an opportunity to sit down with the fed chairman this week and as we talk about tough economic times we ought to learn the lessons of history and one of the lessons of history is that starting a trade war can bring about a recession and that's what we see the democrats doing people are struggling to make their paycheck stretch why don't we create more jobs why don't we level this playing field and when it comes to our friend columbia hugo chavez wants this trade agreement to never see the light of day the gentleman's time has expired i yield for additional fifteen seconds gentlemen from texas is recognized for fifteen seconds and again mr speaker when we're talking about our ally columbia hugo chavez wants this trade agreement to never see the light of day and our democrat colleagues agree with that i yield back the balance of my time the gentleman yields back the balance of his time who seeks recognition i will continue to reserve so may i inquire of my friends so i assume there are no further speakers then on my last speaker has not yet shown up so i guess i should refer from that that there won't be any more speakers other than your close i presume i think that's let me mr speaker if i may yield one minute to my very good friend from fairfax distinguished a former chairman and ranking member of the committee on government what's it called now government oversight and reform i can't keep up with it but gentleman from virginia is recognized for one minute well thank you i oppose this resolution strongly ms speaker we call us fasttrack authority for a reason no argument about process niceties can change the meaning of those words this is supposed to be a deadline for a vote in the house the administration has been talking and talking and we think that if we didn't bring this forward it would never come up for a vote at all this is the vote that's the very point of the requirement we're being asked to waive today look the supposed failure to consult is just the latest pretext for the shameless politicization of free trade policy and the abandonment of a key ally the perverse truth underlying the political battle lines over trade that this action would harm american interests at home and abroad in fact american workers would benefit from the provisions in this agreement much more than their colombian brothers and sisters columbia already has access to us market under the andian free trade agreement this opens eighty of colombian markets that currently are closed have high tariffs to american farmers and american manufacturers legislating like elections is about choices and changing the rules gentleman's time has expired is the wrong choice gentleman's time has expired who seeks recognition gentlemen from california mr speaker i'd gain inquire the distinguished chair of the committee on rules if in fact they're going to be any other speakers on the other side of the aisle there are not there are not okay so mr speaker let me feel myself balanced at the time to simply say that this has been a very interesting debate unfortunately our colleagues on the other side have put forward some well let's say some inaccuracies the fact of the matter is over the last four years when this process began the administration has been working very closely with hundreds and hundreds of meetings in a bipartisan way to come together so that we can do what both democrats and republicans alike have said that they want to do strengthen our ties within this hemisphere and do what we can to ensure that we bring about an agreement which will work to create jobs right here in the united states that as sandwich ranking member of the ways and means committee has just reminded me of the fact that every country with which we have a free trade agreement every single country we enjoy a surplus of trade a trade surplus so the notion that pursuing these fta somehow costs us jobs is preposterous and the facts don't hold it up one of our friends on the other side of the aisle gentleman from oregon mr defazio talked about the fact that we were the manufacturing giant in one thousand nine hundred and seventy four thirty four years ago when fasttrack authority was putting in to put into place and i will tell him today we are still the world's manufacturing giant in one thousand nine hundred and seventy four we had a one and a half trillion dollar economy today we have a one hundred and forty one trillion economy so as was said by the republican leader mr baner this is a no brainer as mr mccrary said this is a no brainer economically we need to recognize that if we as a nation are going to maintain our leadership role we have to shape it gentleman's time has expired vote no on this horrible hugo chavez rule mr speaker and with that i yield back the balance of my time gentlewoman of new york mr speaker i need to put on the record the fact that america is not the manufacturing giant china is the manufacturing giant followed by india yield no thank you i like to have my time to close the people who talk all again today who talk about free trade never mention fair trade it's been a problem for me for a long time if it has not affected their economies they're very lucky i happen to represent an economy that has been greatly affected by trade policies that did nothing for the american workers they did nothing to produce more jobs the idea that we would again continue to follow that failed policy surprise me but the most important thing today we are not debating the columbia us free trade committee what we are debating today is whether or not the house of representatives is going to take back what it is entitled to take back and that is responsibility for scheduling matters that come to the floor for consideration it is a very important point we're perfectly entitled to do it under the law it affects the senate not a bit and i am proud frankly to say again that we are prerogatives which have been slipping away from us for the past twelve years all the congress's prerogative going through the executive department that has to stop i not only wanted to stop this one i would like to regain some of the abilities that we have lost already to represent the people who send us here i urge everyone to vote yes on this rules changed today and i move the previous question without objection the previous question is order the question is on adoption of the resolution all those in favor say aye all those opposed say no the nos have it the speaker on that gentlewoman from new york i request the yays and nays yays and nays are requested those favoring a vote with the yays and nays will rise a sufficient number having risen the yays and nays are ordered members will record their votes by electronic device this will be a fifteen minute vote fifteen minute vote on the house floor and changing the rules for debating the columbia free trade agreement it's a second in a series of votes on the house floor today and for about an hour of debate between the members of the house over this change in the rules congressional quarterly reported the debate like this late yesterday