Providing for Consideration of H. R, 5684, United States-Oman Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act
PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION OF H.R. 5684, UNITED STATES-OMAN FREE TRADE AGREEMENT IMPLEMENTATION ACT -- (House of Representatives - July 20, 2006)
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Mr. SANDERS. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong opposition to this agreement. Unfettered free trade is one of the major reasons why in our country today the middle class is shrinking; why for 5 straight years family median income has declined, while in the last 5 years 5 million more Americans have slipped into poverty; why millions of Americans are working longer hours for lower wages.
Yes, I acknowledge at a time when the CEOs of large corporations earn 400 times what their workers are making, at a time when large corporations are throwing American workers out on the street and moving to low-wage countries, yes, free trade has worked very, very well for the large multinationals.
But maybe, just maybe, once in a long while, the Republican leadership might want to consider the middle class of this country, working families, lower-income people and not just the wealthiest people.
Mr. Speaker, the American middle class should no longer be forced to compete against workers in China, Vietnam, and other countries where desperate people, through no fault of their own, are forced in some cases to work for wages as low as 30 cents an hour. That is not a level playing field.
Throwing American workers out on the street, moving to countries where people are paid pennies an hour, is bad public policy. It has failed. One of the definitions of insanity is to do the same thing over and over again. That is what this Congress does. It fails every single time.
Mr. Speaker, before we vote for unfettered free trade with Oman, we should consider this. In Oman, the minimum wage ranges from absolutely zero to $1.30 an hour. The average wage in Oman is about $13,200, below the poverty line for a single mother with one child living in this country.
Is that fair competition for American workers? In addition, Mr. Speaker, we hear a lot from this administration and my Republican colleagues about the need to support freedom. Well, are the people in Oman free to elect their leader? What was the result in the last election? We didn't hear much about that, because they don't have elections.
Oman is a hereditary monarchy. Is there freedom of religion, freedom of speech, freedom of the press in Oman? No, there is not. Mr. Speaker, in the last 5 years alone, we have lost nearly 3 million decent paying manufacturing jobs, 17 percent of our total. In 1993, before NAFTA, our trade deficit was over $70 billion. Last year, after unfettered free trade, it was over $715 billion. This year it is expected to top $800 billion.
The time is now to rethink our policy with regard to unfettered free trade.
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