GOOD SHEPHERD VOICES FOR JUSTICE

Action Alert: June 14, 2002

Action ALERT: Congress Votes in June on Fast Track Trade Promotion
Authority

From:   SHARE's Washington, D.C. Office
Date:  June 7, 2002
RE:  Fast Track Round II: Full Court Press is NEEDED!

In this Action Alert, we want to update you on the critical trade
legislation in Congress that will be soon coming to a final vote.  We
urge you to call your House Representatives today!  Background is
included first.  If you already know the background, scroll down to the
section on "Call your Member" and see the Talking Points.  If you can
make this alert to a flier to pass out to others, please do so.   Many
thanks.

SUMMARY.  The House of Representatives will soon vote for a second time
on Fast Track this month (June) after it emerges from conference
committee.  This legislation will have a tremendous impact on the U.S.
agenda in El Salvador and Central America. Fast Track authority will
accelerate plans for advancing the Free Trade Area of the Americas
(FTAA) agenda and a new, Salvadoran-backed Central America Trade
Agreement.  We cannot let this one slip by!

WHAT IS FAST TRACK?   Many of you may have fought last year to defeat
Fast Track or "Trade Promotion Authority" (H.R. 3005) in the House of
Representatives. Fast Track is a legislative procedure where Congress
gives up its responsibility to oversee trade negotiations and instead
gives the President the power to go out and negotiate agreements that
are then brought back to Congress for an up or down, yes or no vote with
only 20 hours of debate and no amendments allowed. This authority, being
pushed for hard by big business, flies in the face of democratic
processes.  It allows no real chance to evaluate impacts on US workers
and their jobs, let alone the impact on the poor in the other
countries.  It will enable quick passage of bad trade deals like NAFTA,
the WTO and now the Free Trade Area of the Americas (NAFTA expansion to
31 more countries in the Americas).  This gives the Administration
over-reaching power on issues vital to our accompaniment of the poor in
developing countries, and especially our friends in poverty in El
Salvador!

On December 6, 2001 Fast Track passed with ONE VOTE after incredible
deal making and pressure to make Representatives change their votes. But
now we have chance to STOP FAST TRACK FOR GOOD!

How?  Fast Track was passed by the free-trade friendly Senate in late
May. However, it has to go through what is called a "conference
committee" where the different Senate and House Fast Track legislation
are merged into one.  The resulting Fast Track bill will be voted on
again on the full House floor. This is the chance we have been waiting
for since we had our victory taken from us by ONE VOTE last December.
The second vote in the House is the time to TAKE IT BACK!

HOW DO WE WIN?  We must hold our House Representatives accountable for
their vote on Fast Track. If they supported Fast Track they need to hear
how disappointed you are and that they now have a second chance to
redeem themselves. If they voted against Fast Track they need to be
thanked and supported, and we must make sure that not a single one of
these Members switches her/his vote! You can find a complete listing of
how Members voted on http://www.tradewatch.org.

Your Representative MUST hear from you before the second House vote!

CALL YOUR MEMBER.  Urge them to oppose Fast Track Trade Promotion
Authority - Call the district office or use the AFL-CIO toll free number
to call DC: 877-611-0063. The U.S. Capitol Switchboard (202) 224-3121
also can connect you to your Member's Office.  Ask to speak with the
person who handles trade in your Members office. Don't leave a message
with the receptionist, chances are that it will never reach the right
person.  Ask for a written response to your call to ensure that your
call is recorded.

MEET with your Member - talk to their district office staff or try to
meet the Member in person; they are frequently home from Friday thru
Monday and have local office hours. If you can't get a formal meeting
find out if they are doing any town hall meetings or other public events
and use these events as an opportunity to ask questions publically about
their position on Fast Track.

TALKING POINTS FOR CALLS AND VISITS:

·  If the trade staffer tells you that the Member is undecided, make
sure they know that you are opposed to Fast Track and why. Follow up
your conversation with the staffer with a letter to the Member (for
sample letter for undecided Members, see http://www.tradewatch.org ).
Get your friends & family to send letters and make a phone call.

·  If the trade staffer tells you that the Member is opposed to Fast
Track , make sure to thank her/him for taking this position and try to
get the commitment in writing. Follow up with a letter to the Member
thanking her/him (use the sample thank-you letter). Tell all your
friends and family to call and thank the Member.  Place the sample
Thank-you Letter to the Editor in your local newspaper.  Arrange a
meeting with the Member to thank her/him for opposing Fast Track.  (You
can use this Primer for Grassroots Lobbying ).  One of the ways we will
win this fight is by locking down Members who are with us 100% by
thanking them & holding them accountable to their word.  Ask your Member
to sign on to the Fair Trade Pledge found on Tradewatch's web-site. This
pledge outlines the demands of any Fast Track, and commits the Member
against any Fast Track that does not contain these requirements.

·  If the trade staffer tells you that the Member is in favor of Fast
Track, make sure she/he knows that you are opposed and try to get a
sense of whether they are fully committed or not. If they seem to be
somewhat uncertain, consider following up with the sample letter for
undecided Members above.
SEND in letters to the editor about Fast Track. You can find some sample
letters on: www.tradewatch.org
For additional background on Fast Track, see past SHARE e-mail Action
Alerts (Dec. 1, Dec. 6. and Apr. 18), as well as the following websites:

 ·  Global Trade Watch www.tradewatch.org.
 ·  Women's Edge www.womensedge.org

For more information about YOUR Member contact any member of the Global
Trade Watch field team at 202-546-4996 or gtwfield@citizen.org. They
want to hear back from you with your reports/updates/comments!

THANK YOU for taking action.  "The bullets look different" in El
Salvador.  These so-called "free trade" policies are part of a top-down
globalization model that is crushing the poor.  THIS is one moment when
your call could make an important difference. Gracias.