Here is the text of the Democratic Party's weekly radio address, as delivered Saturday by Senate Majority Leader Robert C. Byrd of West Virginia: This is Senator Byrd. I have good news. Congress is one step closer to passing the long-awaited trade bill. Last Thursday, the House of Representatives did its part. The trade bill passed overwhelmingly. Now, it is our turn in the Senate. Next week we are going to send the trade bill to the president for his signature. The trade deficit has got to come down. America's standard of living is being threatened. There are more of us working, but fewer of us owning homes. In most families, it takes two people working to keep the American dream in sight. And everyone is looking over their shoulders, worried about the next crash on Wall Street. Year by year, we have slipped further into debt. The trade deficit, like the budget deficit, is in triple digits. The trade deficit is up again. That means fewer jobs for Americans. With this trade bill America will be telling the world: ``Watch out, you've got competition.'' We will be telling the world that America expects fair competition: ``If you get access to our markets, we get access to yours.'' The trade bill is a positive step for America. It is a good bill. This bill creates programs for retraining workers, and gives the president new tools to open up markets to American products. It is not protectionist. The trade bill is comprehensive. It covers everything from exchange rates to better education for our children. The trade bill establishes a strong new export policy. At the same time, it protects American inventions from piracy by foreign firms. In addition, this trade bill prevents foreign investors from dominating industries vital to our national security. This trade bill is a reasonable response to a trade policy that hs gone awry. It opens up new markets, invests in people and ideas, and creates new opportunities for American industries and workers to work together _ to make America competitive again. We are at the 11th hour when it comes to dealing with our nation's trade deficit. This is no time to dilly-dally. America has got to get moving again. The trade bill gets us moving in the right direction. But all this is at risk if the president vetoes the trade bill. Despite months of working with the president, the Congress is still unsure of his support. The president is still waving his veto pen in the air. The president is upset that the trade bill includes one small section to protect workers from suddenly being laid off without notice. That's the issue: the plant-closing legislation that you have been hearing about. Our bill says if your factory is going to close and you are going to lose your job, you have a right to know 60 days in advance. That is simple justice, simple decency. Right now, many workers get only a week or two or a day or two of warning that their jobs are about to disappear. About a third of all American workers get no notice at all. The administration does not like this provision. I think the administration is dead wrong. What they are saying is this: ``It is OK to give golden parachutes to the big guys, but it is not OK to give the little guy a warning that he is about to lose his job.'' Is that fair? Of course not. I have seen the impact of factories suddenly closing in my own state of West Virginia. Men and women who have loyally worked for years for a company suddenly are handed pink slips without warning. ``Go stand on the unemployment line. All your hard work does not count.'' That's the message. The choice is simple. If the president stands up for America, he will sign the trade bill. There will be no veto. It will be a great day. If the president vetoes the trade bill, he will be sending another message: The big boys with the golden parachutes count more than the little guy. Mr. President, at the 11th hour, don't turn back the clock. We need new policies, not old politics. Mr. President, put away your veto pen and sign the trade bill when it comes to your desk.
