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| From © The Saginaw News |
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Kildee: Obama's green initiative bolsters hope for 'good paying jobs' in Great Lakes Bay Region, but president's free trade stand a disappointment |
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January 28, 2010By Barrie Barber |
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U.S. Rep. Dale E. Kildee had two requests for President Barack Obama when he shook his hand before the State of the Union Speech on Wednesday.
The first: “Hit a grand slam home run.” And the second, “Come to Michigan.”
Obama told Kildee he would.
Kildee, a Flint Democrat, said Obama’s emphasis on renewable energy jobs could reap benefits for the Great Lakes Bay Region.
Hemlock Semiconductor Corp., Dow Chemical Co. and Dow Corning Corp. “really provide a perfect place to develop jobs for the green energy sector,” he said.
“This is an area that could really lend itself to create new green energy jobs and good-paying jobs.”
But while Kildee praised Obama for his emphasis on renewable energy jobs, he said he was disappointed with the president’s pro-free trade stand.
Obama called for a strengthening of trade ties with South Korea, Panama and Columbia. Free trade pacts with each of the nations have languished before Congress.
Obama had campaigned during the 2008 election that he would modify the North American Free Trade Agreement which many blame for the loss of thousands of Michigan and hundreds of thousands of U.S. jobs, but he made no mention of the long controversial pact during his speech. His administration has made no significant changes to the deal.
“Every president I’ve served with, every one, has been wrong on trade, so it’s not any surprise,” said Kildee, who has voted against numerous free trade pacts since the North American Free Trade Agreement. “I’m really disappointed, but not surprised by the president’s position.”
While Obama called for doubling U.S. exports in five years, and for trade enforcement, Kildee said constituents have lingering doubts based on past results. Critics say U.S. exports haven’t kept pace with job losses and hundreds of billions of U.S.consumer dollars sent every year to foreign producers like China.
“People don’t believe they are going to do good as they are told, but are going to do harm,” he said. “And (the agreements) aren’t enforced either.”
Kildee said after the speech he told Obama’s Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel the Flint Democrat still didn’t like NAFTA.
“I can’t tell you what he said. It’s not printable.” But Emanuel said it with a smile, Kildee said. “Rahm was the guy in charge of ramming NAFTA through when Clinton was president,” the congressman said. Emanuel was an Illinois Democrat who served in Congress before he became chief of staff.
Kildee lauded Obama’s pledge to make college more affordable and predicted health reform will happen in some form.
“We’re probably going to have to be a little less expansive in it and use some way to try to get by (a Republican) filibuster” in the Senate, he said. |
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