PRESS RELEASE
Congressman Keith Ellison Endorses U.S. Joining the AIIB
March 19, 2015 (EIRNS)— The co-chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.) was asked yesterday by Alicia Cerretani of LaRouche PAC whether he would support the United States joining the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), and taking up Chinese President Xi Jinping’s offer for the U.S. to collaborate with China on this initiative. Ellison, who was speaking to a Capitol Hill luncheon sponsored by the Progressive Democrats of America, stated that it is a great idea and, that he agrees "wholeheartedly."
Much of Ellison’s speech had been devoted to denouncing the campaign to grant the White House fast track authority in the secret negotiations underway for the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), part of the Obama Administration’s so-called Asia Pivot, and a deal which Ellison called "a race to the bottom" and a "job-killer for the American economy." In her question, Cerretani counterposed the efforts by the Obama administration to contain China through the TPP and its attempted boycott of the AIIB, to the surprise announcement by four leading European nations—Great Britain, France, Germany, and Italy—that they were defying the Obama position and joining the AIIB as founding members. Cerretani stressed that, taken together with the BRICS New Development Bank, this initiative is shaping a new international economic order, and that the Congressional Progressive Caucus should throw its efforts into causing the United States to reverse its position and become a part of this. She added that American workers have common cause with the people of the BRICS nations in standing up to the reigning international financial interests and creating a new system based on investment in growth and productivity.
In his response, in which he stated that he agreed that the Progressive Caucus should support U.S. participation in the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, stating "We’ll take that up," Rep. Ellison also noted that the progressive wing of the Democratic Party has long advocated the creation of an Infrastructure Bank inside the United States. But, while nothing has been done to adopt that policy domestically, now you see much of the rest of the world moving in that direction with their support for the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and related initiatives, he said. Ellison then remarked, "We think it’s the right thing to do!"
A video of the event can be viewed at: https://youtu.be/YHdwpOF9KDc?t=35m28s
