COALITION FOR A PROSPEROUS AMERICA

WRITTEN TESTIMONY OF

COALITION FOR A PROSPEROUS AMERICA

BEFORE THE UNITED STATES HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

COMMITTEE ON WAYS AND MEANS

HEARING ON THE EXCHANGE RATE POLICY OF THE GOVERNMENT OF THE PEOPLE?S REPUBLIC OF CHINA, AND ITS IMPACT ON THE U. S. AND GLOBAL ECONOMIES

HEARING DATE MARCH 24, 2010

Thank you Chairman Levin, and members of the House Committee on Ways and Means, for allowing the Coalition for a Prosperous America to present this written testimony to you.  We respectfully request that this written testimony be accepted into the written record for this hearing.

SUMMARY OF TESTIMONY:

The Coalition for a Prosperous America, and its members, support neutralizing the persistent undervaluation of the Chinese renminbi through countervailing duties and/or anti-dumping duties.  This can best be accomplished through passage of the Currency Reform for Fair Trade Act of 2009 (H.R. 2378).  There is wide agreement that China persistently undervalues its currency and that the impact is a mercantilist one, not a free-trade result.  The quantity of undervaluation is anywhere from 25 to 50 percent, a range that is agreed upon widely.  This currency manipulation has in large part been an underlying cause of the Great Recession. 

The volume of manufacturing and jobs off shored because of this unfair trade tactic has been devastating.  As Treasury Secretary Geithner has argued, we cannot grow GDP without correcting this problem.  Diplomacy and negotiation have been tried for several years, reached the upper levels with President Obama’s November 2009 visit to China, and failed.  Enforcement of international norms, which disallow such undervaluation, is necessary.  The U.S. House should pass the Currency Reform for Fair Trade Act for 2009 (HR 2378) to neutralize this currency advantage and return to free and fair trade.  Passage of HR 2378 is the most significant jobs creation and economic growth action that this body can take.

BACKGROUND OF CPA:

Take back control of your food!

 

There are two million farmers and 300 million eaters in the United States. Standing between them are a handful of corporations who control how food gets from one side to the other.  

Let’s change the equation. 

For the first time ever, the Department of Justice is on a fact-finding mission looking at how big business controls food and farming — and they want to hear from YOU. They are specifically seeking comments and stories about how corporate control of the food system affects average citizens. If you’re concerned that just a few big businesses have so much power over where your food comes from and how it’s produced, tell the government! Your comments will help to inform a series of hearings on the issue next year.          

E-mail your comments to agriculturalworkshops@usdoj.gov BY DECEMBER 31. The few minutes you take to write your letter could curb big business’s power over our food!

(Easy template below; sample letters and more topic ideas at www.usfoodcrisisgroup.org/)
——————————————————————————————————
TEMPLATE: