State trade commission awaits funds Budget woes delay action

BANGOR – The Maine House and Senate have passed a bill that would create a Citizen Jobs, Trade and Democracy Commission. The bill now sits on the legislative appropriations table waiting for funds.

The commission would look into the legal and economic impacts of U.S. trade agreements and make recommendations to the Legislature, Maine’s congressional delegation and U.S. trade negotiators.

The problem is many new programs being proposed are not getting approved for funding because of the state’s budget woes. Lawmakers are currently grappling with how to cut programs or find new revenue to plug a $160 million hole in the budget for the fiscal year that starts July 1. And they anticipate a deficit approaching $1 billion for the next two-year budget cycle.

Without funding the bill, LD 1815, will essentially die, according to the office of House Speaker Patrick Colwell, D-Gardiner, who sponsored the legislation.

“It’s a bill that would give Maine citizens a greater voice in trade agreements,” said Jack McKay, president of the Greater Bangor Labor Council, on Friday. “The challenge now is to get funding. All we need is $12,000 – it’s a small price to pay.”

“It is an investment in Maine’s future,” said Bjorn Claeson, project director of the Peace through Inter-American Community Action program. “The Legislature agrees we have a problem with trade.”

The $12,000 price tag for the bill is a small price to pay in comparison to the benefits, said McKay.

“Over 12,000 manufacturing jobs have been lost in the state of Maine due to trade since the year 2000,” he said. “And 163 towns across the state have been effected.”

These 12,000 jobs do not represent the total number of people affected by jobs moving to Mexico, Canada and overseas under current trade acts.

“On average, there are another two jobs that are lost when a manufacturing job is lost,” McKay said.

Free trade pacts, such as the North American Free Trade Agreement, commonly known as NAFTA, are eliminating jobs in Maine, said Peter Coppa, union president for Paper, Allied-Industrial, Chemical and Energy Local 403.

“We need to send a message,” he said. “This bill is a chance. People need to listen to us and hear the pain we’re going through.”

The bill passed the House on April 5 by an 80 to 48 vote and passed the Senate on March 29 by an 18 to 16 vote. The measure now awaits action by the Appropriations Committee.