Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick: “today is a great day. As my colleagues will remember in the 105th Congress, this House did pass this bill. The Senate…”

“today is a great day. As my colleagues will remember in the 105th Congress, this House did pass this bill. The Senate did not. I am happy that in the 106th Congress the Senate and the House has now acted on the African Growth bill, and I commend the gentleman from Illinois (Chairman Crane), the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Dingell), the gentleman from New York (Mr. Rangel), and the other leaders for making sure that this is brought to the House floor. We all are a bit disturbed about the process that it did move quickly; but if my colleagues will remember, it has been on the House calendar in some form over the last couple of years. I was a cosponsor then, and I am a cosponsor today of both the African Growth bill and the Caribbean Initiative bill. It is time. And I applaud this Congress and its leadership for making it a reality and bringing it to the House floor. I visited Africa on several occasions, as many of my Members know, many of us have. It is trade that our countries need so the children can prosper in those countries, so that the families can take care of themselves, and so that, again, we grow American's jobs on this side of the Atlantic. Mr. Speaker, over 300,000 jobs will be created with the signing of this law in our country. Many more children in Africa and in the Caribbean nations will find housing, health care, education services that they do not now have because of the stimulation of the business opportunities that this bill will provide.”