Thursday, July 26, 2007

Someone Has Their Head On Straight



HUNTER NAFTA SUPER HIGHWAY AMENDMENT PASSES HOUSE

Washington, D.C. – Late last evening, Congressman Duncan Hunter (R-CA) successfully offered an amendment to H.R. 3074, the FY2008 Transportation Appropriations Act, prohibiting the use of federal funds for participation in working groups under the Security and Prosperity Partnership (SPP), including the creation of the NAFTA Super Highway. The Hunter amendment gained strong bipartisan support, passing the House by a vote of 362 – 63.
“The proposed NAFTA Super Highway presents significant challenges to our nation’s security, the safety of vehicle motorists, and will likely drive down wages for American workers,” said Congressman Hunter. “Much like NAFTA, the super highway is designed to serve the interests of our trading partners and will lead to neither security nor prosperity.
“This 12 lane highway, which is already under construction in Texas, will fast-track thousands of cargo containers across the U.S. without adequate security. These containers will move from Mexico, a country with a record of corruption and involvement in the drug trade, across a border that is already porous and insufficiently protected.
“Unfortunately, very little is known about the NAFTA Super Highway. This amendment will provide Congress the opportunity to exercise oversight of the highway, which remains a subject of question and uncertainty, and ensure that our safety and security will not be comprised in order to promote the business interests of our neighbors.”
NOTE: SPP working groups are advancing a plan to build the NAFTA Super Highway – an international corridor extending between the U.S., Mexico and Canada.

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