Centrist Democrats oppose CAFTA

Centrist Democrats oppose CAFTA

WASHINGTON - The leaders of the centrist New Democrat Coalition in the House of Representatives announced today their opposition to a free trade agreement with Central America, imperiling the passage of one of the top legislative priorities of Silicon Valley's high-tech industry.

Rep. Ellen Tauscher, D-Walnut Creek, chair of the 41-member group, and three other New Democrat officials, released a letter to President Bush asking him to renegotiate the deal, known as the Central American Free Trade Agreement, or CAFTA, because it does not provide adequate protections for workers rights in the region.

``Free trade consist of simply reducing trade barriers. As we pursue trade liberalization we have a responsibility to address the impact that trade deals will have on workers both here and abroad,'' Tauscher said. ``Today we are saying to the president, `Stop.' Don't send a faulty CAFTA trade agreement to Congress.''

Tauscher and her New Democratic Coalition co-chairs -- Rep. Adam Smith, D-Wash., Ron Kind, D-Wisc., and Artur Davis, D-Ala. -- said Bush needed to use the clout of the United States to force the Central American countries to improve worker rights provisions in any trade deal. They also slammed Bush for failing to provide money in his budgets for training of U.S. workers who lose their jobs because of expanded global trade.

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http://www.tallahassee.com/mld/tallahassee/business/technology/11562463.htm

companies.

These New Democrats are putting lipstick on a pig by this action. They are worried everyone thinks they are in the pockets of big business so are now coming out for workers rights in OTHER countries.

CAFTA is more exploitation, and along they come to pave its way with their minor fiddling.

With the GOP, at least, evil is a given. But count upon centrists to make smoothies out of the vomitous of the right.

Tauscher(D?):

The Honorable J. Dennis Hastert
Speaker
U.S. House of Representatives
H-232, The Capitol
Washington, DC 20515

Dear Mr. Speaker:

We write to encourage you to bring bankruptcy reform legislation to the House floor as soon as the Senate completes its consideration of the bill. The New Democrat Coalition has backed common sense bankruptcy reform in the past and helped in passing the bankruptcy reform bill by overwhelming margins in the House of Representatives during the 108th Congress.

Over the last several years, we have worked to advance reasonable and balanced legislation that would require individuals who have the ability to repay their debts to do so, while preserving the important safety net of bankruptcy under Chapter 7 for those who truly need it. We believe that responsible bankruptcy reform embodies the New Democrat principle of personal responsibility, while at the same time adding important new consumer protections such as requiring enhanced credit card disclosure information and encouraging participation in consumer credit counseling.

It is our hope that the House of Representatives will consider this important piece of legislation in an expedited manner. We stand ready to work with you and our colleagues on both sides of the aisle to pass bankruptcy reform into law.

Sincerely,

Rep. Ellen O. Tauscher
Rep. Adam Smith
Rep. Ron Kind
Rep. Artur Davis
Rep. Carolyn McCarthy
Rep. John Larson
Rep. Stephanie Herseth
Rep. Dennis Moore
Rep. Mike McIntyre
Rep. Joe Crowley
Rep. Jay Israel
Rep. David Wu
Rep. Diane Hooley
Rep. Melissa Bean
Rep. Jim Davis
Rep. Harold E. Ford, Jr.
Rep. Ed Case
Rep. Jay Inslee
Rep. Shelley Berkeley
Rep. Gregory W. Meeks

http://tnr.com/etc.mhtml?pid=2584

Yes, folks, all the names listed above are our wonderful "Centrist" moderate "Democrats".:puke:

Good for them, something is better than nothing..

Sure. These Democrats are real concerned about workers rights in other nations. It's just within the United States that they join Republicans to screw working people.

Thanks for nothing!