Jay Rockefeller: “I listened, as usual, with great respect to the argument of the Senator from Missouri about this matter. I respect the…”

“I listened, as usual, with great respect to the argument of the Senator from Missouri about this matter. I respect the Senator from Missouri very much on trade issues and I usually agree with him. I serve on the Finance Committee with the distinguished Senator from Missouri I listened to him at great length as he very clearly expressed concerns about the GATT subsidies agreement. I do not necessarily share his views on that, and in fact the very Airbus program that he referred to in his argument would be actionable under the new GATT agreement. The point is that we have to separate the wheat from the chaff. We are not debating the GATT bill. The place to do that is in the Senate Finance Committee. If we are to resolve that issue, then let it be in the implementation legislation. I say to my colleagues on the other side of the aisle, and those who might be listening, the Senate Finance Committee is preparing the proper implementing legislation so that the GATT round can pass. It cannot be law unless it passes the Senate Finance Committee. So the Senator will have ample chance to do something at that time. But the punishment that he inflicts on S. 4, which is about creating jobs for Americans, is not fair. It is not fair to the rest of us. It is not fair to his own colleagues who have participated over the last few years going back to President Bush and developed this whole concept.…”