Ken Bentsen deserves your thanks and a note or a phone call from you.
(see below for phone number and address).   I called Congressman Bentsen
yesterday to express the Partnership's support on the Trade Promotion
Authority (TPA) bill. Yesterday, the bill passed in Congress by one vote
(215 to 214). Ken Bentsen's vote made the difference. When I spoke with
him, he told me how difficult it would be for him to make that vote, and
that he had been lobbied hard by the labor unions, the Cabinet and the
President. I urged him to vote for the bill and told him what the impact
would be to Houston and the region*.
In the final analysis, the bill passed thanks to your fellow Houstonian
and Congressman, Ken Bentsen. He made the difference. The Congressman,
the Partnership and you had an impact on that vote.
Hope to see you on Tuesday, December 11 at the Houston Club for the
final board meeting of 2001.
*U.S. exports support 12 million U.S. jobs, including one-in-five
manufacturing jobs, and account for almost one-third of real U.S.
economic growth over the past decade.

The Honorable Ken Bentsen
326 Cannon House Office Bldg.
Washington, D.C. 20515
202-225-7508
202-225-2947 (fax)

Jim Kollaer
President/CEO
Greater Houston Partnership
jkollaer@houston.org
713/844-3601