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My Congressman
Opposes CAFTA!
By Kentroversy
7-20-5
 
As many of you know, the Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) contains sections related to something called CODEX ALIMENTARIUS -- which is legislation that seeks to remove our dietary supplements and herbal alternative therapies. If this passes the U.S. House of Representatives, we will have to get a doctor's prescription to buy over-the-counter Vitamin C, and many other vitamins and minerals that are part of our daily lives.
 
I wrote a letter to my Congressman Brian Higgins (27th District NY) and was surprised at the reply that he sent.
 
I received this reply on July 18, 2005:
 
 
July 13, 2005
 
Mr. ---- ---------
Buffalo, New York
 
Dear Mr. ---------:
 
Thank you for contacting me in opposition to the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA). I appreciate hearing your views on this important issue, and share your concerns about the impact that such a treaty would have on jobs, labor rights, and the environment. I do not support CAFTA in its' present form, and hope you will accept my apologies for the delay in my response.
 
President Bush signed the United States-Dominican Republic-Central America Free Trade agreement on August 5, 2004. This measure, which is now pending ratification before Congress, promotes trade liberalization among the United States, the Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua. CAFTA is an inequitable agreement that will hurt families and workers not only in our country, but across Central America.
 
This treaty is an expansion of broken trade policy that would affect developed and developing countries alike. While the agreement would lower barriers among ratifying nations, it would not adequately raise labor-management or environmental standards in order to level the playing field and make free trade among these nations truly fair.
 
Since the North American Free Trade Act (NAFTA) was ratified in 1993, our nation has lost over 500,000 jobs to exploited Mexican workers who work in poor conditions and do not receive sufficient wages for their effort. Like NAFTA, CAFTA fails to comply with international labor standards and fails to enforce fair labor practices. In fact, the agreement only requires participating nations to comply with their own domestic labor laws, many of which are extremely inadequate within Central America.
 
In addition, Central America is a region that is rich in biodiversity. Unfortunately, CAFTA does little to address the urban pollution, costal contamination and deforestation that would threaten this unique environment without proper development policies. Any industrial development spurred by CAFTA would take place without sufficient environmental safeguards.
 
I am proud to come from a family that boasts a rich history of organized labor. I believe that workers in all nations have the right to earn an honest wage for their honest work. I do not support CAFTA because through it, our country would turn its back on its tradition of win-win growth through strong employee-management relations. CAFTA would cause lose-lose economics where workers' voices would be silenced, natural environments would be destroyed, and American jobs would be threatened.
 
Thank you again for contacting me on this important issue. Please rest assured that I will keep your thoughts in mind. I hope you will not hesitate to contact me again in the future, if I may be of further assistance on this or any other matter.
 
Sincerely,
 
Brian Higgins
Member of Congress
New York 27
 
---------------
 
Here is the original letter that I sent to Congressman Higgins:
 
July 8, 2005
 
Honorable Brian Higgins
United States House of Representatives
Larkin Building Suite 601
726 Exchange Street
Buffalo, New York 14210-1485
 
Re: Say "No!" to CAFTA and Codex Alimentarius!
 
Honorable Representative Higgins:
 
I am writing to you today about an attack to my own private choice as it relates to the selection and use of vitamins and herbal supplements -- in the form of something called Codex Alimentarius. This heinous idea, which has been inserted into the CAFTA legislation, is predicated on the idea that I am too ignorant and stupid to choose my own health care options.
 
You must oppose the CAFTA free trade agreement, so long as it contains the Codex Alimentarius provisions. If you do vote for this heinous legislation, you will no longer receive any support from myself, as well as my entire family and friends. Your support of this legislation will also seriously harm any chance you might have for reelection, as the entire alternative health industry will lobby heavily against you.
 
In closing, allow me to quote our great third President Thomas Jefferson:
 
"If people let government decide what foods they eat and what medicines they take, their bodies will soon be in as sorry a state as are the souls of those who live under tyranny."
 
Thank you for your consideration to this extremely urgent matter.
 
Respectfully Yours,
 
Kentroversy
 
© 2005 The Kentroversy Papers
http://kentroversypapers.blogspot.com
 

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