Sen. Phil Gramm, chairman of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs, joined his colleagues on the Senate Finance Committee in voting today to establish permanent normal trade relations with China. Gramm made the following comments:

"Free trade is something that in the post-war period has been a foundation of our prosperity. It helped us win the Cold War and change the world.

"Some of us have forgotten that China was a founding member of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade. The problem was that in 1949, with the communist takeover, China turned toward the dark side and achieved, for a short time, the Marxist dream of equality for workers, only it was equality in poverty and hopelessness.

"But the human spirit is stronger than communism, and beginning in the 1970s, things started to change in China. We're on the verge of seeing China come back from the dark side, reverse the decision it made in 1949 and literally knock on the door, asking to come back into the civilized world. The question we're answering is, are we going to open the door or bar it?

"I want it pretty clear that I want to see the door open. I hear criticisms of China, and the criticisms are valid. The Chinese basically do not understand religious freedom and, by and large, don't practice it. Workers have limited rights when they work for the government, but should we be surprised at that? Finally, no underdeveloped country protects its environment the way we would like it to or the way we would, given our level of prosperity.

"But there can be no rational dispute about the fact that if we pass this bill and reestablish our normal, permanent trade relations with China, every one of the things that the critics of the bill complain about will get better, and if we reject it, every single one of them will get worse.

"So I think this is a historic vote. You go to a lot of trouble to get elected to the Senate. You spend a lot of time dealing with issues that bore you to tears. But every once in a while you get to do something very important. And my guess is that 20 years from now, when people look back on the Clinton era, the vote on normal trade relations with China will be one of the most historic votes cast."