Byron Dorgan: “The majority leader suggested that perhaps CAFTA might be brought up later this week. As the majority leader knows…”

“The majority leader suggested that perhaps CAFTA might be brought up later this week. As the majority leader knows, CAFTA is brought to us under something called fast-track procedures, No. 1, and No. 2, an expedited procedure by which, when it is brought to the floor, it is given 20 hours of debate. Some of us feel very strongly that fast track is wrong, but, nonetheless, that is the process. I ask the majority leader if he is intending to bring up CAFTA under fast track as the last order of business because the suggestion then would be you bump fast track up against the Fourth of July recess. I think that would mistreat a very serious issue. My hope is that the majority leader will not decide to make the CAFTA trade agreement the last order of the day in this week because, if so, that will suggest that there is a desire to truncate the debate, to shrink the 20 hours, and not have a thoughtful and full debate on a very important trade issue at a time when we have the largest trade deficit in the history of this country. My question would be, is there consideration to bringing up the Central American Free-Trade Agreement when we return from the Fourth of July recess?”