There's something happening here...AFL-CIO issues page

[slipslidingaway]

Working Families Vote 2008 > Issues
Trade & Manufacturing

http://www.aflcio.org/issues/politics/issues_trade.cfm


I came across this page when looking back on the votes for the China Trade bill in 2000. What is interesting is how the page includes information on the China Trade bill for certain candidates and excludes vote information for other candidates. I would assume this page is compiled for the benefit of their members so why would they be selective on the voting records of the candidates? Does anyone else find this strange?


Senate vote
http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=106&session=2&vote=00251

House vote
http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2000/roll228.xml


No mention of the votes that the Dem candidates cast for this bill


YES

Biden
Dodd
Edwards

NO

Kucinich


Republican YES votes are mentioned

Brownback
McCain
Thompson

Republican NO votes are NOT mentioned

Hunter
Paul
Tancredo


FWIW articles before and after passage

Fevered lobbying aims to solidify China trade bill support, vote by vote
http://archives.cnn.com/2000/ALLPOLITICS/stories/05/23/pntr.wrap/index.html

House approves China trade pact
http://archives.cnn.com/2000/ALLPOLITICS/stories/05/24/china.trade/index.html


Clinton hails Senate vote on China trade
http://archives.cnn.com/2000/ALLPOLITICS/stories/09/19/pntr.vote.hfr/index.html

[hang a left]

1. Reminiscent of the post I saw yesterday regarding the

DCCC and Florida congressional races.

Let's face it. We have been infiltrated.

Makes. me. sick.

[slipslidingaway]

2. Yes I saw that and this page is a disservice to members of their

union. Unless they look further they do not see the disconnect between past actions of the candidates and what they are saying today.

:(

[hfojvt]

3. I find it somewhat stranger

that they give more space to Clinton and Giuliani than they do to Edwards. At least partly, they almost seem like they relied on press releases from the candidates, or speeches made to unions. It's not clear how they decided to put information in those profiles. Trying to see a big picture, or current information and including quotes or voting records that verify those positions.

[slipslidingaway]

4. Not sure how they picked the articles/speeches, the selective

voting records on the page still troubles me more.

:shrug:

[slipslidingaway]

5. Trade in Goods (Imports, Exports and Trade Balance) with China

You can just quickly scroll through this page to see the increases in our trade deficit with China from 1985 through June 2007.

http://www.census.gov/foreign-trade/balance/c5700.html



"Growing trade deficits and job losses"

http://www.epi.org/content.cfm/bp188

"The U.S. trade deficit with China has increased from $50 billion in 1997 to $235 billion in 2006, an increase of $185 billion, as shown in Table 1. Between 1997 and 2001, prior to China's entry into the WTO, the deficit increased $9 billion per year on average. Between 2001 and 2006, after China entered the WTO, the deficit increased $38 billion per year on average.

While it is true that exports support jobs in the United States, it is equally true that imports displace them. The net effect of trade flows on employment must look at the trade balance. The employment impacts of growing trade deficits are estimated in this paper..."

[slipslidingaway]

6. Votes on the amendments to HR 4444

http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/vote_menu_106_2.htm

[LWolf]

7. So where were

Clinton/Obama when the vote was taken?

[slipslidingaway]

8. They were not in the Senate at the time of the vote n/t

[LWolf]

9. Right.

What were they doing instead of showing up to work, I wonder?

[slipslidingaway]

10. Note the date of the vote... in 2000 :)) n/t

[LWolf]

12. Ahhh...

A different world. :)

[lonestarnot]

11. Dennis Kooch! Votes the right vote AGAIN! WOOT DENNIS!

Yes very strange not all votes published here.

[slipslidingaway]

13. Thanks, it appears they want a Dem just not Dennis, whoever

it was that put this page together. Unless their members check the votes themselves they are not getting a true picture. So when the candidates give speeches about jobs being outsourced and they check this page it looks like none of the Dems voted for the bill :(

Yes again and again Dennis votes for the people, he saw the problems in 2000 with this bill.

Posted this over in GD Politics
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=3511387&mesg_id=3511387


"The U.S. trade deficit with China has increased from $50 billion in 1997 to $235 billion in 2006, an increase of $185 billion, as shown in Table 1. Between 1997 and 2001, prior to China's entry into the WTO, the deficit increased $9 billion per year on average. Between 2001 and 2006, after China entered the WTO, the deficit increased $38 billion per year on average."


http://kucinich.house.gov/Issues/Issue/?IssueID=1466#Ot...

"...Furthermore, giving China permanent MFN will be harmful to the U.S. economy, since the record trade deficit with China (and attendant problems such as loss of U.S. jobs, and lower average wages in the U.S.) will worsen. For 2000, the trade deficit was nearly $84 billion. Now that China has been awarded permanent MFN and is close to WTO membership, the trade deficit will worsen. In a September 30, 1999 report, the U.S. International Trade Commission concluded that China's accession to the WTO would cause "an increase in the U.S. trade deficit with China".

Conclusion -- There was no legal requirement to award China permanent MFN. Permanent MFN will be a drag on the U.S. economy and has cost us the best leverage we have to promote justice in China and throughout the world."