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On the ‘Fast Track,’ DeLauro Part of the Problem
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Business New Haven
11/17/1997
By: BNH
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As baby-boomers came of age a quarter-century ago, those who sought to create change were enjoined that they were either “part of the problem or part of the solution.” Today, as we look at how congressional Democrats - including, unfortunately, those in Connecticut - have impeded President Clinton's attempts to expand global markets for American companies, we're reminded of that slogan.
“Fast Track” may to some ears be only a sound byte. But anyone who has ever negotiated a complex contract will surely understand why the President needs the ability to craft complete trade arrangements and have them accepted or rejected by Congress in toto.
To all but a few Republicans, the 1996 Presidential election was a clear mandate for President Clinton's policies. More than a year later, his package of policies including fiscal restraint, increased global trade, targeted tax relief and selective human and infrastructure investment, continue to pay off.
The U.S. enjoys its lowest unemployment rate in more than 25 years; in the past month alone almost 300,000 new jobs were created. Certainly not all Americans have shared equally in this success, but it is nevertheless reckless to turn our backs on what clearly is working.
Yet that is precisely what the vast majority of congressional Democrats have done by rejecting the President's so-called fast-track bill.
Here in Connecticut, we are at a loss to understand the lack of support for the President from the state's Democratic members of Congress. Third District U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro has made her position crystal clear in discussing the President's proposal; it can be summed up in three words: No, no, no. And in spite of her gubernatorial aspirations, U.S. Rep. Barbara Kennelly (D-1) has also adopted that misguided stance.
In recent years we have appreciated DeLauro's efforts to reach out to small-business people in response to the devastating recession which wracked Connecticut and her district. She has played an admirable role in providing minorities and woman with information and help in obtaining access to federal funds and U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) guaranteed loans.
Unfortunately, she seems to have overlooked the real story of Connecticut's economy and what is needed to generate employment in her own district.
In 1997, Connecticut's economy is finally beginning to emerge from its doldrums, evincing three notable qualities: it's competitive, technologically sophisticated and, for a growing number of companies, increasingly trade-dependent.
Connecticut lawmakers ought to visit companies large and small such as Novametrix, Bayer, Echlin, Aetna, Fire-Lite, Bilco, United Technologies, GE, CAS Medical, Gerber Scientific, Cooper Instruments and U.S. Surgical and ask their management and workers about the future of their companies and the role that exporting will play in that future.
Fast-track proponents and the White House acknowledge that many congressional Democrats have simply followed the lead of organized labor; that well may be the case. But here in Connecticut, we can see no case for risking precious jobs because of over-restrictive trade policies. To the contrary: The risk is that we do too little to encourage trade.
One is either part of the problem or part of the solution. For Connecticut workers, an expanded global trade environment is, plainly, the solution.
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