Max Baucus: “all my colleagues support the intent of the Wellstone amendment. Of course, we want to protect religious freedom all…”

“all my colleagues support the intent of the Wellstone amendment. Of course, we want to protect religious freedom all over the world. It is in our American Constitution. It is in our Bill of Rights. It is enshrined in the first amendment to the Constitution. It has helped make America the great country it is. There is no doubt about it. But that is not what we are voting on. In effect, what we are voting on is whether our American farmers, ranchers, workers, manufacturers, or service providers will be able to take advantage of very significant liberalization and market openings that will occur in China once it joins the World Trade Organization. In effect, that is what we are voting on. We are also voting on whether, if we deny Americans the opportunity to trade on a more liberalized basis with China, we are going to therefore allow our Japanese and European competitors to trade with China on much more favorable terms than we Americans would. A vote for the Wellstone amendment means Americans will be closed out of the Chinese market of trade on favorable terms. It also means in effect that other countries--I mentioned before Japan and the European Union--will be able to trade on more favorable terms because they will have already ratified their PNTR with China. It is very clear at this stage of the congressional session, the Presidential election year, any amendment to H.R. 4444 will kill the bill. That is clear.…”