I thank the gentlelady for her leadership and for yielding. I want to congratulate the Colombian people and President-elect Santos on a successful and democratic election. Madam Speaker, I would like…
I thank the gentlelady for her leadership and for yielding.
I want to congratulate the Colombian people and President-elect Santos on a successful and democratic election. Madam Speaker, I would like to enter into the Record this editorial from The Washington Post calling on the administration and congressional Democrats to support the incoming Santos administration by acting on the U.S.-Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement.
President-elect Santos will continue the great work done by President Uribe to strengthen the rule of law and improve the lives of all Colombians. Colombian workers are safer now than ever before. Despite this progress, Colombia faces real challenges. Venezuela has imposed a trade embargo because of Colombia's strong support for the United States, severely damaging the Colombian economy. We have a powerful tool to help Colombia weather the embargo, the U.S. Free Trade Agreement with Colombia. With this agreement, the United States would provide both economic and political support for a truly democratic government and a longstanding ally. Unfortunately, Dem- ocrats in Congress have denied us even the opportunity for a simple up- or-down vote on the agreement. But other countries aren't standing still. They are reaching agreements with Colombia, racing ahead to put their workers and their businesses ahead of ours. Just yesterday, the Canadian Legislature ratified the Canada-Colombian Trade Agreement. That agreement could go into effect in just a few months. Colombia is negotiating agreements with Europe, Panama, and South Korea, as a result, American workers are falling behind.
There is no credible reason to oppose the U.S.-Colombia Trade Agreement. It levels the playing field for American workers, creating over $1 billion in new U.S. sales to Colombia. The bill imposes stronger labor protections for Colombian workers, which is why thousands of union workers in Colombia support the agreement. And it demonstrates America's commitment to a valuable and longstanding ally.
The administration says it wants to increase U.S. exports, create jobs, and ensure strong U.S. foreign policy, but none of this is credible while it ignores the U.S.-Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement and does not make it ready for a vote in Congress.
[From the Washington Post, Tuesday, June 22, 2010]
Will Washington Treat Colombia's Santos as an Ally?
Juan Manuel Santos has demonstrated that pro-American, pro-
free-market politicians still have life in Latin America. Mr.
Santos, who romped to victory in Colombia's presidential
runoff on Sunday, has no interest in courting Iran, unlike
Brazil's Luiz Ignacio Lula da Silva. He has rejected the
authoritarian socialism of Venezuela's Hugo Chavez. A former
journalist with degrees from the University of Kansas and
Harvard, he values free media and independent courts. His
biggest priority may be ratifying and implementing a free-
trade agreement between Colombia and the United States.
So the question raised by Mr. Santos's election is whether
the Obama administration and Democratic congressional leaders
will greet this strong and needed U.S. ally with open arms--
or with the arms-length disdain and protectionist
stonewalling to which they subjected his predecessor, Alvaro
Uribe.
Mr. Uribe will leave office in August as one of the most
successful presidents in modern Latin American history,
though you would never know it from listening to his critics
in Washington. He beefed up Colombia's army and economy, and
smashed the terrorist FARC movement; murders have fallen by
45 percent and kidnappings by 90 percent during
his eight years in office. Though most Colombians wanted him
to remain in power, he bowed to a Supreme Court ruling
against a referendum on a third term--which means that unlike
Mr. Chavez, he will leave behind a strong democratic system.
Colombia has nevertheless been treated more as an enemy
than friend by congressional Democrats, who have steadily
reduced U.S. military aid and worked assiduously to block the
free-trade agreement Mr. Uribe negotiated with the Bush
administration. The Obama administration, which has courted
Mr. Lula and sought to improve relations with Venezuela and
Cuba, has been cool to Colombia, recommending another 11
percent reduction in aid for next year and keeping the trade
agreement on ice.
Mr. Santos's election offers an opportunity to revitalize
the relationship. As defense minister, he demonstrated a
commitment to addressing the human rights concerns that
troubled some in Congress. He has pledged to seek better
relations with both Venezuela and Ecuador, despite the
material support those countries have provided to the FARC.
Ratification of the free-trade agreement would serve the
administration's stated goal of boosting U.S. exports while
bolstering a nation that could be an anchor for democracy and
political moderation in the region. It would also allow the
administration and Congress to demonstrate that friends of
the United States will be supported and not scorned in
Washington.
