Full Text of HJR0064 93rd General Assembly
HJ0064enr 93RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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| HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION 64
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| WHEREAS, Manufacturing jobs, which build and sustain | 3 |
| America's middle class, are disappearing; the United States has | 4 |
| lost more than 2 million manufacturing jobs since April 1998; | 5 |
| and
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| WHEREAS, Trade agreements, such as GATT, creating the WTO, | 7 |
| and NAFTA, were passed with strong bipartisan support, amidst | 8 |
| promises from the leadership of both parties that the benefits | 9 |
| would far outweigh the negative effects; and
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| WHEREAS, Studies based on the government's own figures have | 11 |
| estimated 3 million actual and potential jobs lost since the | 12 |
| signing of the NAFTA in 1994; in Illinois, an estimated 140,900 | 13 |
| manufacturing jobs were lost between July 2000 and June 2003, a | 14 |
| decline of 16.2%, or one out of every six manufacturing jobs | 15 |
| was lost in Illinois; and
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| WHEREAS, The annual trade deficit has hit a record high of | 17 |
| over $450 billion, growing by more than 600 percent in the past | 18 |
| 10 years; and
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| WHEREAS, Our trade deficit with Canada and Mexico has | 20 |
| ballooned to nine times its size before NAFTA; since Congress | 21 |
| granted China Permanent Normal Trade (PNTR) status in 2000, the | 22 |
| U.S. deficit with China has grown more than 20%, by more than | 23 |
| $14 billion; and
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| WHEREAS, The current administration is working on a new | 25 |
| trade deal, Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA), which is | 26 |
| expected to be presented to the U.S. Congress in 2005; and
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| WHEREAS, The tremendous effects of the manufacturing | 28 |
| crisis in Illinois are obvious, on the tax base and budgets, on | 29 |
| our local, county, and State governments, schools, and public |
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| services; and
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| WHEREAS, It is incumbent upon the Illinois General Assembly | 3 |
| to not only do everything it can to save and attract | 4 |
| manufacturing jobs in our State, but legislators must also | 5 |
| seriously examine the effects of U.S. trade policy on our State | 6 |
| and determine our recommendations to our respective party | 7 |
| leadership in Congress; therefore, be it
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| RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | 9 |
| NINETY-THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE | 10 |
| SENATE CONCURRING HEREIN, that we will convene a study | 11 |
| committee to investigate and hold public hearings about the | 12 |
| effects of U.S. trade policy on Illinois jobs and farms; the | 13 |
| study committee shall consist of the following: two members of | 14 |
| the House of Representatives appointed by the Speaker of the | 15 |
| House of Representatives, one of whom shall serve as | 16 |
| co-chairman; two members of the House of Representatives | 17 |
| appointed by the Minority Leader of the House of | 18 |
| Representatives; two members of the Senate appointed by the | 19 |
| President of the Senate, one of whom shall serve as | 20 |
| co-chairman; two members of the Senate appointed by the | 21 |
| Minority Leader of the Senate; six individuals appointed by the | 22 |
| Governor from unions representing manufacturing workers in the | 23 |
| State, which will include representatives from the United | 24 |
| Steelworkers of America; six individuals appointed by the | 25 |
| Governor from manufacturing companies in the State; four | 26 |
| individuals appointed by the Governor from the Illinois AFL-CIO | 27 |
| Executive Board; and four individuals appointed by the Governor | 28 |
| from the Illinois Manufacturers' Association; and be it further
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| RESOLVED, That the study committee shall meet at least four | 30 |
| times while the General Assembly is in recess, inviting | 31 |
| workers, labor unions, employers, academics, and farm and trade | 32 |
| experts to testify; the panel shall make recommendations to the | 33 |
| Governor and to the U.S. Congressional delegation and the |
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| President as to the future direction on trade agreements and | 2 |
| what must be done immediately to reverse the continual loss of | 3 |
| middle class jobs in our State; and be it further | 4 |
| RESOLVED, That the members of the study committee shall | 5 |
| receive no compensation for their services but shall be | 6 |
| reimbursed for their necessary expenses incurred while serving
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| as study committee members; and be it further
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| RESOLVED, That the study committee shall file a final | 9 |
| report, containing its findings and recommendations, with the | 10 |
| Governor and the General Assembly no later than May 1, 2005.
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