Wednesday, December 12, 2001

Trade bill protects U.S. textile industry

By MAC COLLINS
Congressman

During the week the Congress considered 24 legislative measures under "Suspension of the rules." These "Suspension" measures are usually non-controversial bills that require the support of at least two-thirds of the House members in order for the legislation to be approved. Of the 24 suspensions considered last week there were several notable measures, including:

Trade-related legislation

Last week the House passed the Bipartisan Trade Promotion Authority Act (H.R. 3005, TPA). The bill gives the President expedited authority to negotiate reciprocal trade bills with our foreign trading partners. Different from previous trade authority bills, this year's legislation included a number of assurances that Congress will have a proactive role in these discussions. Additionally, it contained several provisions aimed at ensuring that fair and reciprocal trade agreements are negotiated which provide greater benefits for our domestic manufacturers.

Receiving particular attention in the legislation is our domestic textile industry, which for too long has been the step-child of trade negotiations.

Specifically in the bill, Congress directed the Administration to: (1) reduce tariffs on textiles and apparel in major exporting countries to the same as or lower than those in the United States; (2) reduce or eliminate subsidies that decrease market opportunities for U.S. exports of textiles and apparel or unfairly distort trade; and, (3) ensure that countries that are members of the WTO implement immediately all their obligations to provide effective market access for U.S. exports of textiles and apparel.

Additionally, one of the greatest threats to the domestic industry are transshipments of illegal textile and apparel products into this country. As a part of negotiations on TPA, this week Congress will consider the Customs Borders Security Act (H.R. 3129) which authorizes an additional $9.5 million specifically for increasing the number of agents and enforcement measures dedicated to preventing illegal and fraudulent textile imports.

The Administration pledged to use these resources and make the enforcement of existing U.S. trade laws a top priority. To determine where weaknesses are at our borders, the bill directs the Comptroller General to conduct an audit of the Customs Service textile transshipment enforcement efforts.

Reauthorizing the Trade Adjustment Assistance Program (H.R. 3008)

On Thursday, the House passed legislation providing a two-year reauthorization for the Trade Adjustment Assistance Program (H.R. 3008), which provides unemployment compensation benefits and provides job training for workers dislocated by import competition. The bill extends direct benefits for 26 additional weeks in order to bridge the gap that currently exists between 78 weeks of benefits and 104 weeks of job training.

The bill speeds up the petition process from the current 60 days to 40 days. H.R. 3008 also provides $2 billion in FYs 2002 and 2003 for new benefit coverage to workers affected by the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

Budget Committee hearing on homeland security

The Budget Committee, on which I serve, held a hearing on Wednesday to examine ways to improve our nation's preparedness against biological, chemical, and nuclear terrorist threats. One of the primary functions of the Congress is to make assessments of what may need to be done to enhance our preparedness in the event of such an attack. These issues will shape much of the budget debate for the next several years.

It is extremely important that the Congress remain faithful to the fiscal responsibility which we owe to the hardworking taxpayers, while ensuring that we are fully prepared.

During the hearing we explored the deficiencies in preparedness, our current status, changes that have been recently made to address terrorist threats, what additional resources may be needed, and what budgetary impact these issues will have on the future spending of the Congress. This was the second Budget Committee hearing held as part of a comprehensive review aimed at helping the committee determine what our priorities should be and where we should allocate resources as we write the budget for next year.

Regulatory relief for Medicare providers

On Dec. 4, with my strong support, the House of Representatives passed the Medicare Regulatory and Contracting Reform Act of 2001 (H.R. 3391) by a unanimous vote. H.R. 3391 was the result of work by the House Ways and Means Committee and the House Energy and Commerce Committee, drawing on the invaluable input of the healthcare provider community, the Administration and the General Accounting Office. This important Medicare legislation now awaits consideration in the Senate.

Increasingly, doctors and other health care providers are faced with more regulations and paperwork under Medicare. As a result, providers are spending increasing amounts of time filling out required forms and decreasing amounts of time caring for patients. Instead of continuing to struggle with burdensome regulations and paper, some doctors are choosing to withdraw from the Medicare program altogether, forcing their senior patients to either find a new doctor or pay for their medical expenses out of their own pockets.

The Medicare Regulatory and Contracting Reform Act of 2001 addresses these issues by decreasing the regulatory burden placed on providers by the Medicare program, enabling doctors and others providers to spend more of their time helping patients. H.R. 3391 also takes sensible steps to educate providers and clarify Medicare processes and provider rights, while protecting efforts to eliminate waste, fraud, and abuse in Medicare.

Administrative Simplification Compliance Act

On Dec. 4, the House passed the Administrative Simplification Compliance Act (H.R. 3323) by a unanimous vote. Sectors of the health care industry and state governments have stated they need additional time to make the technical and procedural changes necessary to achieve compliance with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA), which improved the administrative efficiency of the health care

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