BOB RILEY, RESPONSIBLE FOR CLOSING THE TEXTILE FACTORIES IN SMALL TOWN ALABAMA

Most of us from small town Alabama have regretted seeing the local shirt factory or clothing factory close down.  Congressman Bob Riley cast the deciding vote that resulted in our nation being swamped with cheap textiles which put the textile factories out of business in small town Alabama.

To see the roll call vote on H.R. 3005 at the Library of Congress web site, go to:

http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2001/roll481.xml

As a result of this trade agreement, our country has been flooded with cheap textile imports and most of the textile mills of Alabama have closed their doors forever.

CONGRESSMAN MIKE ROGERS SAYS UNLIKE BOB RILEY, HE WILL VOTE AGAINST FREE TRADE.

Congressman Mike Rogers from Alabama's 3rd Congressional District has pledged to not vote like Congressman Bob Riley.  While running for re-election he boldly promised that he would not be like his predecessor Bob Riley.  Mike Rogers will vote against the so called "Free Trade" legislation.

In an article in The Daily Home dated May 6, 2004, it says,

"Unlike his predecessor, Congressman Mike Rogers is paying attention to the needs of textiles in the Third Congressional District.  He boldly vows that he will not vote for the Central American Free Trade Agreement unless Avondale Mills pledges its support.

And rightly so.  While former Congressman Bob Riley voted along with the Bush administration on federal trade agreements that penalized companies like Avondale, Rogers is saying �no.�� 

Read this article at:

http://www.dailyhome.com/opinion/2004/dh-editorials-0506-editorials-4e05v1724.htm

More about Bob Riley's vote on H.R. 3005.  This vote, gave President George W. Bush "Fast Track" trade negotiating authority.  �Fast Track� legislation does not require the president to include enforceable protections for the environment and workers� rights in our trade agreements, lacks adequate procedures for consultation with Congress and the public, harms independent farmers and limits democratic debate about trade policy.  The House passed �Fast Track� by only one vote!  The legislative steamroller required to pass �Fast Track� resulted in the closest trade vote in history.�  Read an article with more details at:

http://www.citizen.org/documents/hr3005.pdf  (please read entire article)

This legislation, supported by Bob Riley resulted in America being swamped with textiles, manufactured with people (almost slave labor) earning about $2 a day, and the end result was the closing of the local shirt factory in your home town.

BOB RILEY'S VOTE COST THOUSANDS OF JOBS IN THE SMALL TOWNS ACROSS ALABAMA

During Riley's tenure, textile mills closed throughout the district.  But Rogers says he won't vote for C.A.F.T.A. in its present form.  He has even joined a caucus of U.S. representatives and senators who are telling the Republican leadership they won't go along with trade agreements that are not grounded in fair trade.  Free trade and fair trade are not synonymous, they contend.

Too many textile and manufacturing companies have closed their doors because of regulations that favor countries like China which does not have to deal with environmental, salary and safety standards like U.S. companies.

According to Avondale president Stephen Felker, the Bush administration version of CAFTA could be devastating because it allows Asia to channel its textiles through Central America duty free.  So it�s cheaper to use a Chinese company's product than it is to use an American company like Avondale.  Read the article at:

http://www.dailyhome.com/opinion/2004/dh-editorials-0506-editorials-4e05v1724.htm

HR 3009

BOB RILEY VOTED TO GIVE SOUTH AMERICAN COUNTRIES DUTY FREE IMPORTS, GIVE SOUTH AMERICAN COUNTRIES ABILITY TO SWAMP AMERICA WITH CHEAP IMPORTS, THEREBY PUTTING AMERICAN MANUFACTURERS OUT OF BUSINESS! 

Official Title of Legislation: HR 3009:

To extend the Andean Trade Preference Act, to grant additional trade benefits under that Act, and for other purposes.  Bob Riley vote yes, see the vote at:

http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2002/roll370.xml

Project Vote Smart's Synopsis:

Vote to adopt a conference report that would reauthorize the Andean Trade Preference Act. The ATPA deals mostly with trade between Bolivia, Columbia, Ecuador and Peru.

- Grants a number of products from Bolivia, Columbia, Ecuador, and Peru duty-free status

- Increases benefits such as job searches, and education allowances to workers who have been displaced due to increased imports

- Allows for a refundable tax credit of 65 percent of the health insurance costs for those who lose their jobs due to increased imports.

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BOB RILEY BLAMED FOR SOCK FACTORY CLOSING AT FT. PAYNE, ALABAMA

Ft. Payne, Alabama, know as the �Sock Capital of the World,� is closing many of its sock textile mills, with Bob Riley listed as the culprit.  Bob Riley is credited for "killing jobs" through his support of international free trade policies such as the Central America Free Trade Agreement or C.A.F.T.A. 

Read the story at:

http://www.times-journal.com/report.lasso?wcd=5163

HR 3005

The vote was 215 to 214.  Bob Riley voted with multinational corporations like Archer Daniels Midland, Bank of America, Bear Stearns & Company, Chevron Texaco, Citigroup, Mc Donald�s, Merk & Co., Pfizer, General Electric, General Motors, J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., Kissinger McLarty Associates, Time Warner, and other transnational corporations.  He voted against you!  Bob Riley cast the deciding vote!  To see the roll call vote at the Library of Congress web site, go to:

http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2001/roll481.xml

What has been the result of Bob Riley�s votes in Congress for "Free Trade" and his support of multi-national corporations?  His support has enabled trade deals like Central America Free Trade Agreement (C.A.F.T.A.) to be "Fast-Tracked" through Congress with no amendments and in only 8 hours of debate!  And now, the globalists are working on the Free Trade of the America�s (F.T.A.A.) which has been described as �N.A.F.T.A. on steroids!�   What that means to you, the average Alabamian, is the loss of thousands of jobs. 

Here are the figures for the whole country:  Technology � 1.2 million jobs lost since 2000; farming � 33,000 small farmers out of business since N.A.F.T.A. became law in 1994; manufacturing � 2.3 million men and women left without work in the last 39 months; textiles � 440,000 jobs eliminated since 1993; citrus industry � 90,000 jobs on the chopping block waiting for the FTAA ax to fall; forest/timber � thousands out of work as mills are closed and relocated to Mexico.  Not even the press is exempt.  Reuters announced it would be cutting 60 American editorial jobs and outsourcing them to Bangalore, India.

Ross Perot warned us about the "GIANT sucking sound" of jobs going to Mexico and even further south of the border.  Unfortunately, it is happening before our very eyes.  For those who live in small towns and wish to stay there, the question becomes, "Where will our children get a job"?

For more info: http://www.stoptheftaa.org/

http://www.newswithviews.com/Spivey/phyllis2.htm

http://www.chuckbaldwinlive.com CAFTA: Politics At Its Worst!

http://www.dailyhome.com/opinion/2004/dh-editorials-0506-editorials-4e05v1724.htm 

Please forward - this information IS SERIOUS.  It is fully documented by independent sources and is ABSOLUTELY CREDIBLE!