In Letters to Obama, 151 House Democrats, Bloc of GOP Announce Opposition to ‘Fast Track’ Trade Auth

[n2doc]

WASHINGTON, D.C. – A letter sent today to President Barack Obama opposing Fast Track authority, signed by 151 House Democrats, signals the end of a controversial Nixon-era procedure used to railroad contentious trade pacts through Congress. Obama has asked Congress to delegate to him its constitutional trade authority via Fast Track for the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and other pacts.

The signers of the letter show the breadth and depth of Democratic House opposition to Fast Track. Signers include:

• 18 of 21 full committee ranking members and 72 subcommittee ranking members;
• Leadership members including Assistant Democratic Leader Jim Clyburn; Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Chair Steve Israel; Steering and Policy Committee Co-Chairs Rosa DeLauro and Rob Andrews; and 35 of 48 Democratic Steering and Policy Committee members;
• 19 of the short list of Democrats who voted for the 2011 U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement;
• 26 of the 51 members of the New Democrat Coalition, and 8 of the 14 members of the Blue Dog Coalition; and
• 36 of 42 House members of the Congressional Black Caucus, and 13 of 19 House members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus

On Tuesday, 25 House Republicans members announced their opposition to Fast Track, and most Democratic Ways and Means Committee members joined a letter noting that the old Fast Track process enjoys little support. Even prominent supporters of past trade agreements who did not sign these letters recently have voiced their opposition to Fast Track.

“These letters make clear that Fast Track is history,” said Lori Wallach, director of Public Citizen’s Global Trade Watch. “When Nixon cooked up this scheme 40 years ago, trade pacts covered only tariffs. Now, deals like the TPP could rewrite wide swaths of U.S. policy, currently under the control of Congress, from food safety and financial regulation to Buy American procurement to energy policy.”

more

http://www.citizen.org/pressroom/pressroomredirect.cfm?ID=4021

[Scuba]

1. Thank you Wikileaks!!!

[red dog 1]

19. +1000

[ljm2002]

22. +10000 n/t

[cali]

44. this precedes Wikileaks- not that I'm not grateful for their work

[Scuba]

45. Cali, I didn't see any reports of this letter until after Wikileaks released the TPP draft. Are ...

... sure this preceeds the release?

Sure feels like the politicians were reacting.

[cali]

46. there's been rising opposition to fast track for months

in both houses but particularly in the House

[Scuba]

48. So, no.

[Swede Atlanta]

2. Yeah!!!!!

This is the worst possible thing for the U.S.

The more I read about this proposal it would decimate American workers but enrich their corporate masters even more.

We must say No, No and HELL No to this abomination.

Obama, we know you are listening into every phone conversation and e-mail so here is a straight communication that even you as someone from Chicago can understand NO!!!

[joeybee12]

3. Finally, some good news...knr

[BelgianMadCow]

4. That's EXCELLENT news!

Made my day, thank you!

[Laelth]

5. Excellent. k&r n/t

-Laelth

[City Lights]

6. Excellent!

Made my day!

[HijackedLabel]

7. Most of the GOP opposition is from the Tea Party.

Makes me conflicted until the President addresses the concerns himself.

He has a way of explaining things that special interests get wrong in the blogs and on the talk shows passing themselves off as news programs.

I'm not a proponent or opponent of the TPP. I don't know enough about it, but there seems to a lot of special interests trying to spread propaganda against it while the proponents are largely secretive and contribute to the disinformation by looking suspicious.

[BlueStreak]

10. We should work with the Tea Party whenever we can

They should be opposed to this mostly for the same reasons we are. Yeah, I know they don't give a shit about the environment. But they really should be concerned about the impact on jobs.

[HijackedLabel]

12. If it's as awful as people are claiming.

I agree, sadly.

[progressoid]

13. daydookrrrjaaaa!!

[merrily]

67. We should, but how?

The Tea Party is not going to like the state law override provisions, either.

But honestly, I don't think the Tea Party is that big. It's powerful beyond its size because of its backers. And its backers are the same ones who back TPP.

If we're going to reach out somehow, we may as well reach out to all Americans.

Again, though, how?

Our media stink. I don't know anyone who can make a big donation. Etc.

[BlueStreak]

72. Good points.

At minimum, we ought to be able to use this to let the rank and file Tea Party people see just how much they have been used.

[ljm2002]

24. That may be true...

...and a lot of the Republican opposition to NSA's spying overreaches was also from the Tea Party. So? That doesn't make them wrong on those issues.

The reason you don't know enough about it, is that negotiations have been kept secret -- even from our Senators and Representatives in Congress, while allowing over 600 representatives from the private sector participate actively in negotiations. That in itself is enough to reject it IMO.

But if you do want to know more about it, here is a link to the Trade Secret part of the treaty as it currently stands, courtesy of Wikileaks:

http://wikileaks.org/tpp/static/pdf/Wikileaks-secret-TPP-treaty-IP-chapter.pdf

Enjoy.

[roody]

31. We have never had a 'free trade'

agreement in my adult life that was good for workers.

[LuvNewcastle]

43. That's right. Trade agreements seem to only benefit the already wealthy.

[rhett o rick]

54. "there seems to a lot of special interests trying to spread propaganda against it "

I would be very interested in what special interests are spreading propaganda against it.

[Raksha]

55. You're not the only one. I have a sneaking suspicion I'm a "special interest."

That hasn't happened in a long time.

[rhett o rick]

56. That's kinda what I was thinking. nm

[merrily]

68. When did being an ordinary citizen become a special interest?

Not meaning to imply that you, as an individual, are ordinary, but you know what I mean.

We're the one group that no one in Washington represents.

Even if the rich supposedly pay most of the money that goes into the Treasury, I've started to wonder why I'm paying any taxes at all.

[AzDar]

8. The President's seemingly boundless enthusiasm and support for this monstrosity has left me

horrified and confused. WTF, Barack?

[Plucketeer]

51. I'm with you!

And this issue isn't the only one that has made this president furrow my brow.

[BelgianMadCow]

9. Oh damn, I forgot: isn't fast-track authority granted by the SENATE

making what the House thinks less relevant/critical? I'm looking at Wikipedia, but it's not clear how an administration gets this authority.

[n2doc]

11. Consent of both houses is required

http://www.brookings.edu/research/papers/2001/12/globaleconomics-brainard

[KoKo]

38. n2doc...I didn't see that in the Brookings Article...

[n2doc]

49. It's in there, as discussion of how this sort of thing came to be

Prior to the twentieth century, regulation of foreign commerce was almost exclusively a congressional prerogative. Tariffs were considered to be more a function of domestic tax policy than of foreign affairs and, as such, were subject to change only by an act of Congress.



The article clearly points out that these sorts of agreements are tax policy, not diplomacy, and this must be agreed upon by both houses of Congress.

[avaistheone1]

14. Great news!

[DireStrike]

15. That's not enough to stop it.. is it?

No filibuster in the house.

[Phlem]

16. Great start.

We need movement on this!

-p

[red dog 1]

17. K&R...Thanks for posting.

This is definitely good news!

[MannyGoldstein]

18. The President has lost control of Congressional Democrats

And while that means that little will get done in the next 3 years, it will also prevent some serious damage like the TPP and cutting strengthening Social Security.

Hopefully we can also slow the NSA until we have an Executive that can end their mischief.

[AAO]

20. Here I go getting hopeful again! n/t

[PuraVidaDreamin]

21. Time to show the people what is in this Trade deal!

Hoping that is their next letter!

[PuraVidaDreamin]

23. Just got this letter from My Senator Elizabeth Warren re: fast tracking

Dear Debra,

Thank you for contacting me about trade promotion authority (TPA).

As you may know, under TPA (or "Fast Track" authority), Congress agrees to expedited consideration of legislation that implements a trade agreement and agrees to vote on such legislation without amendment. In turn, the President must consult regularly with Congress and let Congress help define negotiating objectives. TPA expired in 2007, and it is up to Congress to decide whether to renew it.

I believe Congress must play a substantial role in crafting trade policy. The Constitution gives Congress the power to "regulate commerce with foreign nations," and Congress should not hastily cede that power because of the enormous impact that trade agreements have on our economy. They affect access to foreign markets and a wide variety of public policy issues - everything from wages, jobs, the environment, and the Internet to monetary policy, pharmaceuticals, and financial services.

On June 13, 2013, I sent a letter urging U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman to support increased transparency in negotiations over the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). I asked him to immediately make public the bracketed text of the TPP, or at least make available a scrubbed version of the bracketed text like the Bush Administration did in 2001 during the negotiations for the Free Trade Area of the Americas. Unfortunately, Mr. Froman refused to commit to making this information available to the public. I will keep pushing in this direction because I believe transparency is critical in allowing for Congress and the American people to have a voice in the negotiations.

Thank you again for reaching out to me on this issue, and I hope that you will continue to keep me informed about issues that are important to you.

Sincerely,

Elizabeth Warren
United States Senator

[Armstead]

30. It's disgusting that she (and we) have to beg to klnow what's in an agreement that is....

supposedly being negotiated and signed in OUR names.

[boomersense]

25. I wish Readers Digest would write the explanation of it. It

is very difficult to read and understand--at least for me. From what I understand of it, if fully enacted it ends the countries that sign it their sovereignty. We would in effect be slaves. And letters to Bernie Sanders would be useless.

[pangaia]

29. Bringing the planet a fascist world in one fell swoop.

[boomersense]

32. Exactly. nt

dddddd

[merrily]

69. They've been doing that for millenia.

This is just the cherry on top.

Make that near the top. I'm sure they are already working on something that will be even worse.

[Raksha]

57. As far as I can tell it does end their sovereignty.

That's why the teabaggers are against, and why progressives should be against it too. There ARE still a few issues that transcend partisan politics, and this is one of them. What American citizen would want to surrender America's sovereignty to a multinational global cartel?

As someone pointed out on another thread, the TPP goes beyond corporate personhood and is a big step towards corporate nationhood. That's the real reason for the unprecedented level of secrecy.

[boomersense]

58. I hope we will be able to give our opinions on this

monstrosity and not get slapped down like the girl did this morning. TPP is pure Inverse Fascism. By inverse I mean the head is the corporations rather than the politicos, like is more normal.

[merrily]

70. Of course you can give your opinion. Whether that will change the mind of anyone

in Washington is a different question.

[peacebird]

26. Good!

[Armstead]

27. This effort to stop it needs to gain momentum

Kickity

[Chrom]

28. K&R

n/t

[NuclearDem]

33. Hey, Hillary 2016 supporters, this is the kind of corporatist shit she supports!

[Jack Rabbit]

34. To the Powers the Be . . .

The American people, indeed all the people of the world, are not party to this agreement. It was negotiated in secret and an attempt will be made rush it through the ratification process with little debate.

The fact that there was so much secrecy in the negotiating the agreement is reason enough to oppose it. Usually, data is classified to keep enemies from knowing military secrets. However, this is a trade deal, not the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact. I do not understand what there is about a trade deal that needed to be kept secret.

However, we suspected all along that the Trans-Pacific Partnership was an agreement among a motley collection of corporate fascists to undermine democracy. The enemies who had to be kept in the dark about what these polluters, crooked bankers, arms merchants, Frankenfood manufacturers and bought politicians had agreed were none other than the people of world themselves. This agreement benefits no one but the greedy and self-important.

To paraphrase President Eisenhower speaking of the Geneva Accords that brought about an end to the French Indochina War, since we are not a party to this agreement, we are not bound by it. And indeed, like the US government in the years following the Geneva Accords, we will do everything we can to subvert the Trans-Pacific Partnership.

We will not be told the we have no right to expect that our elected representatives in our parliaments and legislatures will act to abate pollution, provide for public health, regulate markets and assure workers of fair wages and safe working conditions while there and that they will like comfortably and independently after each one of them retires.

The natural resources of the earth belong to us, living people made of flesh and blood. Corporations have no rights other than those we deem fit to give them. Please tell some arrogant corporate executives that we have a right to enjoy access to water and anyu other resource necessary to sustain life; Nestle's Corporation does not. Nestle's Corporation has nothing more than the right to stay in business so long as they pull an honest profit, and we are the ones who decide what is honest.

One that last thought. I would like to tell you corporations to get fucked, but it wouldn't do any good. It might if you were real people, but as artificial persons getting fucked won't make you happy or put you in a better disposition. Perhaps that why it flatters you to be thought rapacious. Now, artificial persons, bow to your flesh and blood masters.

Peace, justice and human brotherhood.

[Armstead]

41. Agree

[Change has come]

66. I'll sign that.

beautiful!

[pa28]

35. K&R!

[NealK]

36. Yes!

[jsr]

37. Recommend

[Oilwellian]

39. It would be interesting to determine...

which Democrats didn't sign the letter and ask them why.

I wouldn't let my guard down on this just yet.

[GoneFishin]

40. Agreed. Complacency is very dangerous. n/t

[Overseas]

42. K&R. Glad to hear it.

[KG]

47. there's way too much at stake for the TPP to die this easily.

[malthaussen]

50. Why do they hate Obama? n/t

[Ccarmona]

53. They Hate Him

Only because he is guilty of being President while being black.
That said, he's still one of them. As to those on the right that insist he's a Marxist, Socialist, etc. are just ignorant to what those words mean.

[Yavapai]

62. To get elected these days takes a lot of money,

So, it looks like President Obama is just one more in a long list of corporate whores.

The 1% corporate elite have the American people divided over issues like abortion, gun rights and such, while they take us from democracy to fascism. As repugnant as it seems, we best start having a dialog with the tea party and take back control of the USA.

[liberal_at_heart]

52. finally!

[cascadiance]

59. I'm a bit disappointed that my congresswoman, Suzanne Bonamici, didn't sign this...

... and a more "moderate" Oregon Dem rep, Kurt Schrader did. Must be that Nike and some other big corps from the west side of Portland were putting pressure on her to stop her from doing so. I think we should all send thanks to those who did vote for this and use examples of how even less progressive Dems like Shrader voted for it as a way to put more constituent pressure on those who didn't to step up the next time a vote like this comes up. We will need their votes in the future for other similar measures.

[tblue]

60. House Dems have to say this to a DEMOCRATIC President?!

[R. Daneel Olivaw]

65. Ironic isn't it?

[colsohlibgal]

61. We Need To Build On This Momentum

Obama apologists would have a Hell of a time trying to rationalize their guy wanting to ram this through using fast track.

Hillary is a corporate type democrat as well, but she'd do well to read the tea leaves. Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, Sherrod Brown, Alan Grayson, Jeff Merkley, they have the pulse of where the majority of us are.

There is one statement I agree with Tea party types about - we do need to reclaim our country. They're just misguided as to what the problem is.

[WillyT]

63. HUGE K & R !!!

[blkmusclmachine]

64. Hope the Democrats can block Obama's TransPacific Screwing & his "Grand Betrayal," er, Bargain.

[merrily]

71. Shouldn't we be contacting our state legislatures and Governors?

My understanding is that parts of TPP allow businesses to override state law. If so, don't at least our state legislatures and Governors owe it to us to speak up on that issue? Maybe our Mayors and City Councillors as well?

I'm very dubious that online petitions or contacting anyone in Washington does anything. But I think, say, a mayor or a state rep can't afford to be too indifferent to constituents. Besides, they might actually care about this for their own sakes.

[ctsnowman]

73. Glad to see my

congress person Joe Courtney signed.