As reported by the Kansas City Star, conservative Republican member of the Kansas State House of Representatives Judy Morrison has introduced a resolution seeking to express the opinion of the entire Kansas State Legislature that the United States should withdraw from NAFTA and oppose construction of the NAFTA Superhighway.
At a hearing Monday, Morrison, a Republican, said powerful financial interests are working to create a new super highway and trade corridor from Mexico to Canada through several states, including Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas.During recorded testimony played before the House Federal and State Affairs Committee, Oklahoma Sen. Randy Brogdon said the corridor would be subject not to U.S. laws but international law.
“The super corridor will cause the largest confiscation of private property ever seen in the United States,” he said.
Morrison’s resolution is supported by the Teamsters Union and U.S. Reps. Nancy Boyda of Topeka, a Democrat, and Jerry Moran of Hays, a Republican.
[UPDATE: Congressman Moran's office contacted this blog, directing us to an update to this quote story, which clarifies that Moran doesn't support withdrawal from NAFTA, but does not support construction of a NAFTA Superhighway.]
Jim Ryun's campaign screamed in 2006 that Boyda was just trying to scare voters into supporting her. We wonder what he says to people like Rep. Judy Morrison and Rep. Jerry Moran.
We agree with Mr. Oates, who concludes by saying he's thankful Rep. Boyda is protecting the border. It's just another issue that is deeply important to our national security and to her constituents that she has already shown more leadership on than Jim Ryun did in his whole career.Take it from me as a truck driver: Mrs. Boyda deserves enormous credit for her efforts to prevent the NAFTA superhighway and improve our road safety.
The superhighway is a rotten idea for many reasons. It threatens highway safety by allowing uninspected, poorly built Mexican trucks on American highways. It threatens the American trucking industry by allowing low-paid, undertrained Mexican drivers to take our jobs. It threatens our immigration laws by weakening our border with Mexico. And it threatens the American economy with limitless, runaway trade.
Mrs. Boyda has fought to address all of these problems. She wrote the Safe American Roads Act, which blocked funding for a program to allow Mexican trucks onto American roads. Her bill passed the House of Representatives last year. She has also introduced a bill to renegotiate NAFTA to improve America's trade imbalance.
