For Immediate ReleaseApril 14, 2008Contact: Dr. P. Kelly HatfieldPhone: 908-522-1455   kellyhatfield@hatfield2008.com Hatfield Says That Washington Dems Have Damaged US Credibility by Changing the Rules in the Middle of the Game Summit – Washington Democrats under the leadership, of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, are putting politics above the needs and security of Americans”, says Dr. P. Kelly Hatfield, candidate for Congress representing New Jersey’s Seventh District. “When they had the perfect opportunity to give a much needed boost to our economy which would have created jobs for Americans House Democrats shirked that responsibility and instead took a partisan path”, she said. Referring to action taken on Thursday by the House not to “fast track” the Columbian Free Trade Agreement Hatfield pointed to the fact that by delaying action at this time means that the Agreement could be sidelined until after the next election.  “It is no secret that the two finalists in the Democratic Presidential Primary are in opposition to the agreement and recently Senator Clinton’s chief campaign strategist resigned his post when it was revealed that he had a side job working for the passage of the very agreement that Clinton says she is against,” said Hatfield. However, Clinton’s husband, the former president, has pushed for passage of the deal and in 2005 was paid $800,000 by a Columbian based organization to give four speeches throughout Latin America; the group touts business opportunities in Columbia. Also in 2007 Bill Clinton met with and accepted an award from Columbia’s President and has even urged congress to view Columbia in a favorable light. The Clinton camp has made light of the situation and has gone as far as to say that all married couples have their disagreements from time to time. “Unfortunately the Free Trade Agreement with Columbia has become a political issue with American workers bearing the brunt of the fallout from the Democrats political games,” Hatfield remarked.   The Columbian Free Trade Agreement is intended to level the playing field for American companies by immediately eliminating tariffs, some as high 35%, on more than 80% of exports to Columbia, which is a large and growing market for American products. “Currently over 90% of imports from Columbia enter the United States duty free enabling them to come into the US marketplace competitively priced”, Hatfield said. “Allowing our businesses, agricultural, manufacturing and service related to export into this marketplace duty free can only increase their profits allowing them to expand and create badly needed new jobs here in the US,” she explained.  “This agreement was signed more than a year ago; the administration has made concessions and has shown to no less than 10 congressional delegations that internal situations in Columbia have steadily progressed for the better and the safety of their citizens has dramatically improved,” she pointed out. “These are the things that the Democrats were looking for before they would implement the trade agreement, but their action this past week only serves to undermine the trust that this or any other future ally puts in us because we are not doing what we promised,” Hatfield said.  “Once again the House Democrats are delaying taking action because the timing is not politically convenient for them,” Dr. Hatfield explained.  Rather than simply voting yes or no on the trade agreement “as is” and without further changes or amendments in keeping with the chamber rules of “fast tracking” legislation, Speaker Pelosi has opted to waive the 45 day  time requirement thus suspending any action on the Columbia Free Trade Agreement indefinitely. “It is obvious that during this tension filled primary season Speaker Pelosi and her caucus majority have executed this maneuver to duck the vote altogether and remain in everyone’s good graces including the unions, the Democratic front runners, the former president and other special interest groups until after the General Election at the expense of those in need of jobs,” she said. One of four trade agreements and the second to come before the House, Dr Hatfield believes that the delay is an impediment not only to job growth here in the US but that the remaining agreements, with Panama and South Korea, have been put in jeopardy. “American made products are in demand around the globe and that our economy would certainly benefit from these agreements is obvious but this situation is a national embarrassment. Not only have the Washington Dems but road blocks in the path to our workers financial stability they have also undermined our national security and our relations with an important ally. Dr. P. Kelly Hatfield is the only candidate in the race who is a proven leader in the fight against wasteful government spending and higher taxes. Possessing 15 years of experience in positions of public service she was elected to three consecutive terms to the Summit Council and served 6 years on the Board of Education. A thirty-year resident of Summit, Kelly and her husband Jim have raised three children and she has been active on numerous local, county and state boards, task forces and commissions.  ###Note: It has recently been reported that Senator Hillary Clinton and former President Bill Clinton just released their tax returns for the past 30 yrs, including 2005, which indicate that they file “Married Filing Jointly”.