REP. PAT SCHROEDER (D-CO)

• On January 25, 1993, Rep. Schroeder and her husband purchased between 1,000 and 15,000 dollars worth of stock in Coca Cola.

On the same day, January 25, a bill was introduced in the House (co-sponsored by Rep. Schroeder) that would appear to affect Coca Cola. The bill was House Resolution 40: RESOLUTION CONCERNING U.S. ASSISTANCE IN NICARAGUA. The House expressed the sense that the president should "...release all humanitarian, development and economic assistance that was authorized and appropriated by the Congress for Nicaragua in FY 1992 and 1993." The Congressional debate over assistance to Nicaragua was immense (see news reports throughout 1993).

Not suprisingly, Coca Cola does a substantial amount of business in Nicaragua, and would benefit greatly from any assistance package to that country. Coca Cola dominates Nicaragua's cola market with a 70 percent share!

• On September 22, 1993, Rep. Schroeder and her husband purchased between 1,000 and 15,000 dollars worth of what appears to have been an INITIAL PUBLIC OFFERING in Pan American Beverages. The quoted IPO price was $25.50/shr. From the period September 22 through December 31, 1993, their investment appreciated 50 percent in total value. Pan American Beverages is an exclusive distributor of Coca Cola in Mexico and Latin America.

A little over one month after her Pan American Beverages purchase (on November 4, 1993), the House finally introduced H.R. 3450: NORTH AMERICAN FREE TRADE AGREEMENT (NAFTA) IMPLEMENTATION ACT. Congress had been debating NAFTA all throughout 1993, and H.R. 3450 was the final effort. Of course, companies like Coca-Cola and Pan American Beverages stood to reap fantastic rewards from passage of NAFTA. As it turns out, Rep. Schroeder was a vocal supporter of NAFTA, claiming that it would "increase markets" (CNN News; November 17, 1993).

VOTE NOTES: Rep. Schroeder voted AYE on passage of NAFTA (House Democrats voted 102 AYE; 157 NAY).

SPOUSE NOTES: Rep. Schroeder's husband (James) is employed as the US Deputy Assistant Secretary of Agriculture...an entity near-and-dear to Coca-Cola (and of course Pan American Beverages). Before joining the Department of Agriculture, Mr. Schroeder worked for the law-lobbying firm Kaplan, Russin and Vecchi. This firm represented foreign clients, and specialized in Caribbean, Latin American, and Asian (Vietnam) interests. According to an April 24, 1991 article in the Los Angeles Times , Kaplan, Russin and Vecchi had ties with the CIA, Oliver North (of arms-to-Nicaragua fame), and the secret society--The Knights of Maltar.