Brownwood & CAFTA: Dinner and Dancing with that Screw ?

Stop CAFTA!

A year ago, The U.S. government and Central American governments signed the Central American Free Trade Agreement. But CAFTA will not be put into effect unless it passes both houses of Congress. A few weeks ago, CAFTA passed in the Senate, and the Administration plans to bring it to a vote in the House as early as next week.
CAFTA represents a preferential option for transnational corporations. If passed, the agreement would further impoverish Central America's workers and small farmers, as well as endangering the jobs of U.S. citizens. It would lower labor standards and entrench sweatshops and gender inequalities, forcing more and more Central Americans to migrate to city centers and to the United States.

As people of faith, we oppose the economic injustices that CAFTA would only amplify.

source of letter: http://go.sojo.net/campaign/stop_CAFTA
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CAFTA wins vote in House
Narrow passage after protracted roll call

By William Neikirk
Tribune senior correspondent
Published July 28, 2005

WASHINGTON -- A divided House of Representatives early Thursday approved a controversial trade agreement with Central American countries, handing President Bush a major economic victory after intense last-minute White House lobbying.
The 217-215 vote ratified a trade deal that Bush had promoted as a way to expand U.S. markets and help check political unrest in a region close to home. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney raised the stakes of the debate by going to Capitol Hill to argue that American's national security was involved.
The agreement passed after Republican House leaders held open the roll call for more than an hour--instead of the usual 15 minutes--while they rounded up votes.
The Senate approved the trade agreement in late June, but the House posed the bigger challenge for the White House.
In a vote that stretched past midnight, most House Republicans supported the measure while most Democrats opposed it. But 25 GOP members voted against it and 15 Democrats voted for it. Two Republicans did not vote, and the lone House independent voted no.
All Illinois Republicans voted yes, and all the state's Democrats voted no except for freshman Rep. Melissa Bean.
Before the vote, the House held a sharp House debate over the merits of free trade in a global economy. Democrats said the agreement would cause a loss of U.S. jobs and would not lift Central America out of poverty.
source: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-0507280224jul28,1,3292860.story?coll=chi-newsnationworld-hed