Today hearings were held on CAFTA in the House Ways and Means Committee. The committee heard testimony from two panels, totaling eleven representatives of a variety of business and labor associations. Of these eleven panelists, eight provided testimony in favor of CAFTA and three expressed opposition to CAFTA. The support for CAFTA came primarily from industry lobbying associations including the American Apparel & Footwear Association, the National Confectioners Association, the California Cattleman's Association, the American Farm Bureau Federation, the Entertainment Industry Coalition for Free Trade, the Chamber of Commerce of the United States, and the Association of American Chambers of Commerce in Latin America who all argued that CAFTA will help business and promote prosperity for the United States.

The hearing comes as the burgeoning movement against CAFTA is showing that it may be able to prevent the trade agreement from being passed. Democratic opposition leaders have publicly claimed that they already have enough votes to defeat CAFTA, with Representative Sherrod Brown of Ohio stating that if a vote was held today 195 Democrats and 60 Republicans would vote "no," easily defeating the agreement. While the exact numbers of Republicans opposed to the deal is unknown at this time, the general consensus in the Congress is that it is in the "high double digits," leading some to suggest that the agreement may not make it out of committee despite Republican statements that it will be voted on in May. Of course, over the next month industry groups and the Bush administration will continue to exert pressure on the Congress to pass CAFTA, and it is essential that anti-CAFTA groups continue to intensify their opposition.

CAFTA was the subject of a similar hearing in the Senate's Finance Committee last week. During that hearing, a number of Senators questioned the agreement and challenged assertions that CAFTA would benefit the United States in what the Washington Post describe as an "ill omen for CAFTA." Passage in the Senate was long believed to be almost certain, but the recent public opposition from Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Saxby Chambliss has increased speculation that the agreement may not pass. An anti-CAFTA caucus has also formed in the Senate and has gained three Republican Senators.

Here in Grand Rapids, a variety of organizations oppose CAFTA and plan this weekend to urge Grand Rapids Congressional Representative Vern Ehlers to vote against the trade agreement. Members of the Stop CAFTA Campaign and their supports are planning to attend a town hall meeting with Vern Ehlers this Saturday at the Gerald R. Ford Museum in downtown Grand Rapids. The town hall meeting will begin at 9:00am and last until 10:00am and the Stop CAFTA group has called for people to assemble at 8:30am with signs against CAFTA, social security privatization and the war on Iraq.