Why five members of the House did not vote for HR 1053 (03/26/06)

Why five members of the House did not vote for HR 1053

by Yarema Belej

PARSIPPANY, N.J. - When the House of Representatives overwhelmingly approved a bill to graduate Ukraine from the trade restrictions of the 1974 Jackson-Vanik Amendment, three members of the House of Representatives - all of whom are members of the Congressional Ukrainian Caucus - declared themselves "present" and did not cast a "yes" or "no" vote.

In addition there were two votes of "no" for the bill, which also grants permanent normal trade relations to Ukraine.

The reasons for these five dissident votes are varied.

Voting "no" on March 8 regarding HR 1053 were Reps. Virgil H. Goode (R-Va.) and Gene Taylor (D-Miss.). Reps. Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio), Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio) and Alcee Hastings (D-Fla.) all declared themselves "present." A total of 437 members of the House voted in support of the bill.

The Ukrainian Weekly contacted the offices of each of the five representatives for comment on their action regarding this landmark bill for Ukraine.

Rep. Goode's office forwarded a message in which the congressman simply stated: "I have consistently voted no on free trade agreements, including those with Africa, Chile, Central America, China and others."

The office of Rep. Taylor failed to comment on his "no" vote despite several attempts by The Ukrainian Weekly to obtain an explanation.

The three "present" votes came from representatives who sit on the Congressional Ukrainian Caucus (CUC), which comprises members of Congress who are interested in matters concerning Ukraine. Most notably, Rep. Kaptur is one of the four co-chairs of the caucus.

A declaration of "present" is much different from an "abstention" or a "no" vote - something that was underlined by the offices of the three members of Congress who opted to record their positions on HR 1053 in that manner.

Reps. Kaptur and Kucinich, both Democrats from Ohio released a joint statement that was read on Capitol Hill. They explained that theirs was not a "no" vote, but more of a "we know" vote.

"We have been strong supporters of political freedom in Ukraine and have advanced the cause of Ukrainian culture internationally and in the United States," read their statement. "...We know that democracy is on the march in Ukraine. We also know that the conditions for a fully functioning democracy are not in place."

Citing what they believe are Ukraine's shortcomings in meeting requirements of a previous bill to lift Jackson-Vanik trade restrictions on Ukraine (H.R. 3939 in the 107th Congress), Reps. Kaptur and Kucinich said that there were several conditions - including issues related to labor rights, trafficking of women and drugs, freedom of the press, legislative reforms, restitution of religious property, rule of law, environmental protection, transparency of elections and settlement of trade disputes - that should have been met before the current bill was passed. (The full text of the Ohio representatives' statement appears below.)

Most notably, their statement noted that there is a university in Ukraine that "sadly, is still teaching anti-Semitism." The reference is to the Interregional Academy of Personnel Management (known by its Ukrainian-based acronym as MAUP).

The MAUP was cited also by Rep. Tom Lantos (D-Calif.), who said in his speech on the House floor that the university is "the principal source" of "anti-Semitic agitation" in Ukraine. Nonetheless, Rep. Lantos voted for HR 1053, citing Ukraine's commitment to defending the rights of all national minorities and noting that President Viktor Yushchenko and Foreign Affairs Minister Borys Tarasyuk had both condemned the MAUP.

In their joint statement Reps. Kaptur and Kucinich also expressed concern that, if appropriate safeguards are not put in place, Ukrainian citizens' wealth could be transferred to multi-national corporations that do not adhere to human rights, labor rights and environmental quality standards.

The response from the office of Rep. Hastings indicated that his vote of "present" was more a political move than an expression of his beliefs that somehow Ukraine had fallen short of meeting requirements for permanent normal trade relations.

Rep. Hastings explained that, as president of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), he will lead the U.S. delegation observing Ukraine's parliamentary elections. It is his belief that HR 1053 was very important to certain political parties in Ukraine and, because of this, he did not want to seem biased before functioning in a very important and neutral capacity on election day in Ukraine.

| Home Page |