In Their Own Words: The House Debate on CAFTA

by Liza Grandia

At almost midnight Wednesday, July 27, after holding the vote open forty-seven minutes past the official close, the Republican leadership arm-twisted out their 217th "aye" and the controversial Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) passed into law. Vice President Dick Cheney apparently spent his day in the shadows of House chambers offering pork deals in exchange for votes. It seems fitting that the astronomical sign on the Guatemalan Maya calendar for this ill-fated day was "Ajmaq," meaning a day of "sins" in which "the ancestors see your wrong-doings." Thanks to C-Span, we citizens were able to witness live the late-night wrongdoings and dirty dealings of Tom DeLay and Company. Their manipulations of the CAFTA vote process made a mockery of our democracy. Contrary to their own Fast-Track legislation which designates 20 hours of debate on trade agreements, the Rules Committee limited debate for CAFTA to a mere two hours. That left exactly sixteen and a half seconds for each representative to voice his or her opinion on the most controversial trade agreement ever to pass before Congress.