Washington, DC – Congressman Joe Baca (D-Rialto) spoke on the floor of the United States House of Representatives late tonight to urge his colleagues to join him in defeating the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA). A copy of his remarks, as prepared for delivery, follows:

I urge all of my colleagues to join me in standing up for America and our working families by rejecting CAFTA.

CAFTA is a bad deal: bad for workers and businesses in my district, bad for America, and bad for workers in Central America.

CAFTA would cause more job losses, more poverty and more hardship for workers both here at home and in Central America, while expanding the gap between rich and poor.

We all should have learned from the mistakes of NAFTA, which was passed 12 years ago and has hurt American workers.

Let’s all keep in mind the saying, “Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.”

After NAFTA, there should be no CAFTA.

When NAFTA was passed, many believed it would lead to higher wages and economic development in the U.S., Mexico and Canada and less illegal immigration.

Those hopes turned out to be false: Instead of helping American workers, NAFTA took away jobs. Instead of helping American businesses, many were forced to close down or move out of the country.

As we work hard to strengthen the American economy, we cannot afford a bad trade bill that is unfair to American workers.