Austin Scott: “tonight we stand on the precipice of doing something great for America. And I think we ought to pause for a moment and…”

“tonight we stand on the precipice of doing something great for America. And I think we ought to pause for a moment and ask the question: What would the American people want us to do here tonight? Well, I am here to tell you what I think the American people want us to do. The American people who are watching television tonight, they are hoping with their fingers crossed that finally, finally the Congress will stand up for America. We stood up for Morocco, we stood up for Singapore, we stood up for China, for India. Now we are about to stand up for the nations in Central America. America is saying, when are you going to stand up for us, the workers, the backbone of America? This CAFTA is fraught with weaknesses in terms of labor rights all throughout. Ever since we have had our trade agreements, just over the past 10 years we have lost 3 million jobs, manufacturing jobs. We have lost 2\1/2\ million jobs to China, to India in servicing. I say to you tonight, stand up for America and America will be very thankful and very proud that we did. Vote ``no'' on CAFTA. Let us send it back, and let us fix it. Trade agreements must benefit both workers and corporations. CAFTA benefits corporations but does not benefit workers. CAFTA fails to include adequate protections for workers. In fact, the U.S. State Department has documented numerous areas where CAFTA countries failed to comply with even the most basic minimum labor standards and worker's rights.…”