May 24, 2000 5:40pm EDT HOUSE PASSES CHINA TRADE BILL The House of Representatives passed legislation authorizing permanent normal trade relations with China, after a week of bitter debate.

Online NewsHour Special Report: The China Trade Debate Q&A: PNTR Debate: * Free Trade * Human Rights * Labor Dec. 1, 1999: A discussion on China, trade and democracy Nov. 18, 1999: An interview with U.S. Trade Representative Charlene Barshefsky Nov. 15, 1999: A discussion on the U.S.-China Trade deal. July 30, 1999: Beijing cracks down on the meditation group Falun Gong.   AFL-CIO Cato Institute Human Rights Watch International Brotherhood of Teamsters United States-China Business Council House Democratic Leader

The final vote -- 237 to 197 -- was bolstered by strong Republican support for the bill. 218 votes were needed for passage. Rep. Bill Archer, R-Texas, chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, called the PNTR bill "the most important vote that we cast in our congressional careers." President Clinton, who made PNTR the major initiative of his final year in the White House, lobbied House Democrats for votes. But most opposed the legislation, noting human rights abuses and lack of labor laws in China. Minority Leader Richard Gephardt (Mo.) announced his opposition last month. "When we stand up, things get better for human rights in China. When we stand down, things get worse," Gephardt told the House. Supporters said the bill would open China's vast markets to U.S. companies and help promote democratic change by exporting American values. With 1.25 billion people, China is the world's most populous nation and has one of the fastest growing economies. Opponents -- including the religious right and a coalition of environmental, human rights and veterans organizations in addition to labor -- asserted PNTR would reward a brutal regime and make it easier for U.S. manufacturers to move factories to China and exploit low-wage workers. "This is a government that has killed its own people," protested Rep. Joe Moakley, D-Mass., an opponent. Labor, a key Democratic constituency, sided with those opponents and waged one of its most intense campaigns ever against the bill. But in an effort to build support, the House added a provision by Reps. Sander Levin, D-Mich., and Doug Bereuter, R-Neb., creating an executive-legislative watchdog commission to monitor human rights and trade policies in China and to make recommendations each year to Congress. "It's a far more effective mechanism than this harangue that goes on here every year," Bereuter told colleagues. The House bill also includes a mechanism to protect U.S. industries against surges in Chinese imports and a $99 million boost in funds for international broadcasting programs, including Radio Free Asia and the Voice of America.