‘India Caucus brought India to centerstage of U.S. Congress’
By Vasantha Arora

Rep. Joseph Crowley (D-NY)

Washington : Leading lawmaker from New York Joseph Crowley (D-NY), says that the Congressional Caucus on India and Indian Americans has been effective in bringing India to center-stage of the U.S. Congress through letter writing, continuing dialogue with Indian Americans and debate of issues related to India.

“This, is perhaps the most commendable achievement of the India Caucus,” he said at a reception hosted in his honor by the Indian American Friendship Council (IAFC), in California on March 22. Crowley spoke on several issues including outsourcing, India-Pakistan relations and military aid to Pakistan.

Although his term as co-chair of the Caucus will conclude this year, Crowley said he would continue to work for the enhancement of U.S.-India bilateral ties. On outsourcing, which is becoming a dilemma for Indian Americans and source of angst to America that is currently facing job losses, a deflating economy and public criticism on Iraq, Crowley said it is essential to look at the large picture, “We are a global economy and keeping that in mind, we need to tackle the problem accordingly.”

The flip side of the issue is to realize that America has now been exposed to India as a gold mine of a consumer market — with its burgeoning middle class, the ensuing massive consumption powers can become a source for massive exports of American goods.

Currently the trade deficit with India is estimated to be $8-10 billion, whereas with China it is much larger. The sanctions placed on India disconnected business relations with India and this needs to be rectified. In short, India’s consumer base can reverse the effects of outsourcing. Crowley also pointed out that through insourcing, especially in the financial sector, seven million new jobs have been created in New York alone.

“We need to respect people who have lost jobs and retrain them in sectors that have potential. In my interaction with Indian Americans in my constituency, I have found out that they also want jobs here as some have been laid off. Some have been exposed to hate crimes and that is why the Anti-Hate crime Bill is so essential. One way to resolve this issue is to do what Japan did with the auto industry --- they set up plants in the U.S. In fact, a reduction in trade tariffs is most suitable to the U.S. and India at this time.”