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Fast Track Buried in House Vote

Sept. 28, 1998

Fast Track Buried in House Vote

Historic Victory Signals Shift in U.S. Politics and Policy on Trade and Globalization

Statement of Lori Wallach, Director of Public Citizen’s Global Trade Watch

Two strikes and fast track is out. We need a whole new game, one with fair rules and in which everyone can participate.

With this vote, Congress declared that fast track is neither a solution to our current problems nor a path to the future.

Today s second resounding defeat of fast track proves it is a thing of the past. Today s House vote retires the failed fast track policy to the history books.

America needs a 21st Century policy to face the challenges of the 21st Century globalization. Hopefully now the interests who have been clinging to the failed past fast track represents can move forward and start a constructive discussion of the fast track s replacement.

The vote in the House represented a stunning defeat for business lobbyists, who had made passage of fast track a top priority.

The broad-based coalition of family farm, consumer, environmental, labor, religious and other citizens groups that defeated fast track has been working since the first fast track battle in 1991 to shift public understanding of globalization and trade policy.

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