U.S. Secretary of Commerce Carlos Gutierrez, champion of trade policies that cost Colorado taxpayers money, jobs, to host fundraiser for O'Donnell on Jan. 9

*Free trade policies cost Colorado jobs: between 1993 and 2004, Colorado lost a net 13,354 jobs as a result of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).

*The Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA), passed this summer, will cost American taxpayers $50 million per year in loan forfeitures by sugar farmers and cost the U.S. $4.4 billion over ten years, primarily in lost tariffs.

* The Colorado Farm Bureau Opposed CAFTA. The CFB declared that CAFTA would inevitably pit farmer against farmer and would negatively impact sugar producers, crippling one of Colorado's biggest industries.

Denver - On Monday, January 9, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Carlos Gutierrez will host a fundraiser for Rick O'Donnell, Republican candidate for Congress from Colorado's 7th District. Gutierrez will headline a discussion on trade and America's economic future entitled "Winning in a Flat World: American Success in the Global Economy" at the law offices of Patton Boggs in Denver.

"Colorado families, who have seen jobs taken out of the state because of bad trade deals advocated by Gutierrez and the Bush Administration, deserve to know if Rick O'Donnell would support more of the same if he were elected," said Pat Waak, Chair of the Colorado Democratic Party. "Would O'Donnell continue to rubber stamp trade policies that benefit the bank accounts of multi-million dollar corporations while costing average Colorado taxpayers money and jobs?"