mr. speaker , i would like to address a few questions on process and some on policy .  there is a big difference between talk and actually getting something done .  this is not an ideal bill .  i would have liked to have had a lot more in this bill .  i wish we could have had more .  i hope we can get some additional provisions in as it moves through the senate .  but the fact is , with all due respect , the most powerful lobby , or at least one of the most powerful lobbies , in this congress is the china lobby , with quotes around that , those people who believe that trade with china and expanding trade with china is absolutely essential .  they rolled us on vote after vote , and we can not get their attention .  some people have alleged that the only reason this bill is coming up is because of cafta .  well , big shock .  it is hard to get different bills up unless you can use your leverage at different times when the majority of congress , of the leadership , president clinton when he was president , president bush when he was president , the leadership of both political parties , has not been willing to aggressively confront china .  they view it as a paper dragon .  this bill is not perfect .  if i can move into policy for a few minutes , because it is very difficult to figure out how to deal with a country that is cheating in their currency manipulation .  if they do not float the manipulation , is it 20 , 40 , 80 percent ?  we do not know .  it is not floating .  so how do you peg it ?  if you do not have any data like this bill is asking us to collect , when i went in and worked with the gentleman from pennsylvania ( mr. english )  and others to try to put this bill together in the beginning , the main problem is that most of the proposals on the table are not workable .  they are not workable under wto because we do not have the functional data with which to match it up to try to prove that there is currency manipulation .  we know there is currency manipulation because they are propping it up , but that is very difficult to prove in a world court .  furthermore , as i worked with ambassador zoellick and with now ambassador portman and josette shiner and others who are working and lobbying china is that as you confront them on these issues , it was questionable whether they had the power to invoke countervailing duties .  this bill incorporates the english bill that i was an original cosponsor of and helped in drafting with the modifications of the ways and means committee , with the numbers collection , so that we can have the first steps to be able to not just be a paper dragon .  now , for all the rhetoric that comes through , and we come down here on the floor and we pound on china and lose another vote , and pound on china and lose another vote , the fact is they have reevaluated their currency this past week .  sure , 2.1 percent .  if they are cheating by 80 percent , 2.1 percent is not much .  but it is a step .  all the rhetoric of congress got nothing , but when we leveraged on cafta , which , quite frankly , is a little tiny peanut compared to a great big elephant when we are talking about china , very important in central america , very important to those democracies , important to a few people in our country and certain trading agreements , but just a little tiny trade thing , and china is a huge trade thing , but they will not talk to me or others about china , either party , unless you leverage your vote when it becomes a critical time .  china , as i talked to the dcm a few weeks ago , says , we are not going to reevaluate .  the pressure was so great out of congress on the markets and manipulation that they made a small concession .  they need to make more .  the plain truth is that for all my criticism of china , they have been helping to prop up our currency .  as arab countries back out of our currency and move to the euro because of our support for israel and other elements in the middle east , china has helped prop it up .  if they suddenly float it , it is uncertain what would happen to our economy from interest rates and inflation , but they need to reevaluate .  american industry can not compete with environmental standards , clean air , clean water , parental leave , the minimum wage , ada and all this type of stuff , then add to that a currency manipulation of 20 to 80 percent .  we can not compete .  it is not a matter of putting tariffs up and us asking for trade advantages .  we can not compete when other people cheat .  now , we appreciate the chinese government moving 2 percent .  they need to move faster .  this bill gives us a tool .  it was shocking to me last night when this bill went down .  it should have been a unanimous vote .  yes , there was not normal participation .  normal participation going through the ways and means committee means it would have been buried so deep , we would not have even seen the letters with the h.r. on it .  it would not have ever come out to the house floor .  it took leverage to come out .  it is not a perfect bill , but we had a bill .  quite frankly , when i first saw that bill go down last night , i thought the china lobby won again , the china lobby on our side that wanted to bury it and the china lobby on the other side that wanted to bury it .  i am thankful to our leadership that they agreed to come back today with a rule so we could pass it with a clear bipartisan majority .  i appreciate them moving forth .  i believe this incrementally , and 