Hayes Sounds off on World Trade, War, Social Security

     U.S. Representative Robin Hayes weighed in on several hot button issues at Campbell University’s Barden Forum lecture Monday, March 21. Hayes, who represents North Carolina’s 8th District, is the grandson of the late textile manufacturer Charles A. Cannon, whose financial gifts through the Cannon Foundation helped establish the Barden Chair of Government at Campbell in 1971.
     Fresh from a late-night session in Washington, DC, in which Congress passed legislation allowing the case of a brain-damaged woman, Terri Schiavo, to be reviewed by federal courts, Hayes called the vote a “gut-wrenching experience.”
     “The marriage contract says ‘‘til death do us part,’ not ‘until it’s convenient,’” he said. “As Christians we believe in the sanctity of life.” His primary goals as a legislator are uphold and honor the institution of marriage and to strengthen the American family, Hayes added.
     Hayes also registered concern over America’s trade deficit with China and has urged the Bush administration to impose limits on imports of Chinese textiles and apparel to protect textile jobs. According to figures recently released by the Department of Commerce, China’s textiles and apparel shipments to the U.S. in January jumped 29 percent to $1.6 billion. The increase follows the January end of import quotas on textiles and apparel from 40 countries, including China.
    “China is killing us,” he said. Hayes, who owns and operates Mt. Pleasant Hosiery Mill and co-chairs the House Textile Caucus, noted that key North Carolina products such as home furnishings and apparel face stiff competition, and wants the World Trade       Organization (WTO) to push for sanctions on trade from China. As part of a special condition imposed only on China by the WTO when China joined the organization, the United States can invoke temporary limits on imports of Chinese textiles and apparel if they threaten to damage U.S. industry.
     Hayes said he favored the changes in the Social Security System proposed by President Bush, however.
     “There should be some kind of safety net for the poverty-stricken, but people should be able to own their own accounts,” he said. “The Social Security System just doesn’t work. It was set up to accommodate people whose life expectancy was 65, now life expectancy is 72. The math just doesn’t work.”
     Hayes is also positive about America’s invasion of Iraq. A veteran of several trips to Iraq and a member of the House Armed Services Committee, Hayes reported that the morale of the troops is wonderful. “They believe in the cause they’re fighting for,” he said. “We’ve got to beat the terrorists over there, folks. We don’t want them over here.”
     Hayes is currently serving his third term in the U.S. House. He also serves on three House committees, including Agriculture, Transportation and Infrastructure, and Armed Services. He was elected to the North Carolina House in 1992 and served until 1996. In addition, Hayes was a nominee for governor of North Carolina in 1996. He graduated from Duke University in 1967.
     Established in 1990, the Barden Lecture Series was created to perpetuate the spirit and beliefs of the late Graham A. Barden, who served as a U.S. Representative from North Carolina’s 3rd District for 26 years.


Photo Copy: From left, Dr. Elmer Puryear, the first Graham A. Barden Professor of Government; Dr. Jerry M. Wallace, president of Campbell University; Congressman Robin Hayes, U.S. Representative from North Carolina’s 8th District; Campbell Chancellor Norman A. Wiggins; and Dr. Graham A. Barden, Jr., son of the late North Carolina Congressman.

Bulletin 0073-3/22/05