FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 15, 2005

Congressman John B. Larson Opposes CAFTA Without Better Labor Protections

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Congressman John B. Larson voted against the U.S. Central American Free Trade Agreement Wednesday when the House Ways and Means Committee took up the bill.

In a preliminary vote, the Committee endorsed the White-House negotiated treaty unchanged 25 to 16.

Larson objected to the trade agreement as drafted because it strikes an unfair balance, offering little to stimulate the American economy.

He said the pact falls short of the standards that any trade agreement America signs onto should meet: the broad fulfillment of America