Doug Bereuter

Mr. BEREUTER

Mr. BEREUTER. Mr. Chairman, it is my pleasure to yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Washington (Ms. Dunn), a member of the Subcommittee on Trade of the Committee on Ways and Means and a person very much involved in exports.

Mr. BEREUTER. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself 15 seconds. Mr. Chairman, just one clarification or point for emphasis. The credit instruments of the Export-Import Bank can only go to American exporters in any case; but in the case of the Benxi Steel, the kind of assistance that went to an American exporter ended up helping Benxi Steel. That is something the gentleman's amendment has stopped for all time. Mr. Chairman, I am pleased to yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. Rohrabacher), a distinguished member of the House who may have a different view on this.

Mr. BEREUTER. Mr. Chairman, it is my pleasure to yield 3 minutes to the distinguished gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Manzullo), chairman of the Committee on Small Business and a member of the Committee on Financial Services, very much committed and interested in trade issues.

Mr. BEREUTER. Mr. Chairman, will the gentleman yield?

Mr. BEREUTER. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume to explain the manager's amendment. (Mr. BEREUTER asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. BEREUTER. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself the balance of the time, and I want to thank the distinguished gentleman from New York (Mr. LaFalce) for his patience and his support through this process. I actually welcome the statement the gentleman made about the upcoming House-Senate conference, and his suggestion is exactly the method that I am going to try to advance, with the Chairman's help, if, in fact, we have an opportunity to go to conference today, as I expect. I would like to say to the gentleman that he and I have shared frustration for so many years over the lack of use of the war chest when it is appropriate, and in part, that failure or deficiency is because of the subject that I think we are addressing in the manager's amendment. Again, I thank the gentleman for his support and his patience through this long consultation process with the administration. We have made as many accommodations as we possibly can without making the ultimate one because we understand what they want is not consistent with what this body, as a legislative body, should do. I urge support of the manager's amendment. Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. BEREUTER. Mr. Chairman, I offer an amendment.

Mr. BEREUTER. Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. BEREUTER. Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman for yielding. I would have claimed the time in opposition, but the gentleman has accurately described the derivation of this language, and there is certainly nothing wrong with the intent. He is also right in recognizing that the primary entities that could have an impact on such a situation, as described in this amendment, are multilateral development banks, but if the gentleman would withdraw this amendment, I will do my best to assure that language like this, probably exactly like it, would be a included as sense of the Congress language or, at least that if we have problems with the Senate conferees, it be included in report language. But it would be my intent to attempt to add such language as sense of the Congress language, as the gentleman has offered it.

Mr. BEREUTER. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the distinguished gentleman from Texas (Mr. Paul), a member of the committee. (Mr. PAUL asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. BEREUTER. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. Gary G. Miller) a distinguished member of the committee.

Mr. BEREUTER

Mr. BEREUTER. Mr. Chairman, to reiterate, we support and can accept the gentlewoman's amendment. I urge support for it. Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. BEREUTER. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself the balance of my time. Mr. Chairman, I very much appreciate the bipartisan opposition to the Sanders amendment as voiced, for example, by the senior Democrat on the Committee on Financial Services. We can all agree on a few things. We can all agree that we hate to see American jobs lost, whether it is because of decline in the industry or because of the fact that those jobs are moved abroad. We do not want to see layoffs. The fact of the matter is, however, that sometimes one sector of a company's production simply becomes obsolete, or because of the fact that it is a labor-intensive or very low-skilled job that for economic reasons, the corporation feels it must move abroad. Mr. Chairman and colleagues, do not penalize those parts of the company that are exporting products abroad. Vote ``no'' on the Sanders amendment.

Mr. BEREUTER. Mr. Chairman, it is my pleasure to yield 2 minutes to the distinguished gentleman from Texas (Mr. Bentsen), a member of the committee. (Mr. BENTSEN asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. BEREUTER. Mr. Chairman, it is my pleasure to yield 3 minutes to the distinguished gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Ferguson), a member of the committee.

Mr. BEREUTER. Mr. Chairman, in the absence of any known opposition to the Schakowsky amendment, I claim the time in opposition, and I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Chairman, I will say to the gentlewoman that during the debate on the rule, the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Hastings) and I had a discussion about the gentlewoman's amendment. The only concern we have had about the gentlewoman's amendment at any time in this whole process is that the State Department is that entity we have selected at this point within our government to prepare the country reports on human rights. The view of this Member and others was that the State Department should continue to be the agency responsible for conducting that kind of review for our entire government. But the gentlewoman has an amendment before us which is in no way inconsistent with that concept. I think what she is proposing to do is very important. We hope that human rights considerations are a factor in the deliberations of the Export-Import Bank, and so I would say we are prepared to accept enthusiastically the gentlewoman's amendment, and I yield to her if she might wish to respond.

Mr. BEREUTER. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from New York (Mr. LaFalce), the distinguished ranking member of the Committee on Financial Services.

Mr. BEREUTER. Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. BEREUTER. Mr. Chairman, I appreciate what the gentlewoman is doing and if there is anything we could do in report language to facilitate stronger encouragement to use those State Department country reports, we should do that, and I would be committed to that end. Mr. Chairman, I yield to the gentleman from New York (Mr. LaFalce), the ranking member of the full committee.

Mr. BEREUTER

Mr. BEREUTER. Mr. Chairman, I rise to claim the time in opposition.

Mr. BEREUTER. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume, and I do not intend to oppose the gentleman's amendment. Actually, I think it is quite appropriate. The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act does regulate the practices of American businesses doing business abroad. It requires them to keep accurate books, records and accounts. It requires issuers to register with the Securities and Exchange Commission to maintain a responsible and internal accounting control system, and it prohibits bribery by American corporations of foreign officials. In the way of background, the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act was a U.S. initiative and we have tried very hard, through the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development in Europe, OECD, to have other countries adopt similar kinds of national legislation. Until recently, many of our west European export competitors have actually permitted their corporations to have their bribes as tax deductible, incredible as that may seem. We have recently had positive action by many of these countries in that respect, but now the proof is in the pudding. That is to say, will they, in fact, have enforcement to make sure that no such bribery is not encouraged or permitted under their tax codes. In any case, the gentleman's amendment, I think, is highly appropriate. This kind of information should be made available and, in fact, generated, if necessary, within the Export-Import Bank. And it is my expectation that as a result of having that information and being encouraged to give it careful consideration the Ex-Im Bank will be able to avoid providing any kind of transaction assistance to an American firm that would be in violation of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. Mr Chairman, my hope is that in fact something like the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act can be applied internationally by actions of national legislative bodies. So I do speak in support of the gentleman's amendment, and I thank him for his initiative in offering it.

Mr. BEREUTER. Mr. Chairman, I claim the time in opposition, and would be glad to allow the gentleman from Vermont to continue to yield.

Mr. BEREUTER

Mr. BEREUTER. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. BEREUTER. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. BEREUTER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time, and I appreciate the kind remarks of the gentleman from Vermont. They are reciprocated. We worked well on this together, and it is a case of an authorizing subcommittee and committee doing their job and simply not relying on appropriators to take all of the necessary steps. I am proud of it, and I think the House will be proud of its product coming from the House and ultimately to passage.