TPP Opponents Mobilize as Powerful Forces Seek to Ram Through 'Fast Track' Trade Authority

[Faryn Balyncd]

TPP Opponents Mobilize as Powerful Forces Seek to Ram Through 'Fast Track' Trade Authority


Lawmakers in favor of the pro-corporate trade deals hope to vote on Fast Track legislation in mid-April




With Congress "dangerously close" to ramming through trade promotion authority, or Fast Track, by mid-April—in turn smoothing the way for passage of corporate-friendly trade deals like the Trans-Pacific Partnership—lawmakers and activists are scrambling to sway key figures in the debate. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) reportedly said last week that he wants the Senate Finance Committee to approve a Fast Track bill "very quickly after we come back" from the Easter recess on April 13. Committee chair Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), who has been leading the effort to gather legislative support for Fast Track, suggested he was coming close to an agreement with the committee's ranking member, Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.). Wyden is seen as a crucial player in Fast Track negotiations, with the New York Times suggesting in early March that the fate of President Barack Obama's trade agenda "appears to rest on the narrow, somewhat wobbly shoulders of Mr. Wyden, a position acknowledged by both parties and the White House with some trepidation.". . . . .




Senator Ron Wyden, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee.



Aware that the window is swiftly closing, opponents continue to mobilize against the Fast Track authority that they fear would allow pro-industry trade deals like the TPP to sail through Congress without amendments. . . . According to The Hill, U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) met last week with House Democrats "to discuss the investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) process, one of the most controversial issues in two trade deals that the Obama administration is negotiating." . . . . . ISDS was at the center of last week's WikiLeaks revelations, which showed that if the secretive Trans-Pacific Partnership goes through as written, it will dramatically expand the power of corporations to use closed-door tribunals to challenge—and supersede—domestic laws protecting consumers, the environment, and public health.


"The meeting with Warren underscores the deep rift between the Democratic base and the administration on trade and highlights Warren's growing influence in the House among progressive members," writes The Hill journalist Kevin Cirilli. One of those members, Rep. Loretta Sanchez (D-Calif.), penned an op-ed published Monday in The Hill. In it, Sanchez declared: "Assessing what we know of the massive TPP only affirms what we’ve learned the hard way through past broken promises on trade pacts—it's a bad deal for American workers." Of the debate over trade promotion authority, she continued: "Congress should not take, or cede, their responsibility lightly. The Trans-Pacific Partnership is too secretive and potentially too damaging to be rushed through Congress via 'fast track' authority. Based on the past two decades of broken trade promises and "trust me" assurances from past presidents, our country can no longer take that chance."


Meanwhile, the internet activism group Fight for the Future on Monday parked a giant video screen near Capitol Hill highlighting Wyden's role in the Fast Track debate, calling on the senator to stand up for the internet protections and transparency by opposing "anti-democratic and outdated Fast Track legislation." . . . .


http://www.commondreams.org/news/2015/03/30/tpp-opponents-mobilize-powerful-forces-seek-ram-through-fast-track-trade-authority

Sen. Wyden's Offices:


Washington D.C.
221 Dirksen Senate Office Bldg.
Washington, D.C., 20510
tel [phone]
fax [phone]


Portland
911 NE 11th Ave., Suite 630
Portland, OR, 97232
tel [phone]


Salem
707 13th St., SE Suite 285
Salem, OR, 97301
tel [phone]


Eugene
405 East 8th Ave., Suite 2020
Eugene, OR, 97401
tel [phone]


Medford
Federal Courthouse
310 West 6th St.,
Room 118
Medford, OR, 97501
tel [phone]


Bend
The Jamison Building
131 NW Hawthorne Ave.,
Suite 107
Bend, OR, 97701
tel [phone]


La Grande
SAC Annex Building
105 Fir St,. Suite 201
La Grande, OR, 97850
tel [phone]

[Faryn Balyncd]

1. McConnell wants Fast Track bill "very quickly after we come back" after Easter recess.

[zeemike]

3. Got to take advantage of the attack on gay people.

And while we spend our time fighting that they will slip right in there and get things done.

As big a deal that the TPP is you would think there would be a mass protest in DC against it...but there won't be...because we are not organized and they are.

[Populist_Prole]

2. Funny isn't it? How this is the ONE thing he and the GOP are eager NOT to obstruct

No ha-ha funny of course, but predictably ironic. They're all for reaming the working class, but of course that's always been well known. What's bad is the third-way has moved right to more than meet the GOP in the middle.

[cstanleytech]

5. Yup, I mean you would think since Obama is for this that they would be up in arms against it

like they have been against just about everything else he has supported like trying to get health care for more americans and how they are against that yet Obama is for it.

[Populist_Prole]

7. Exactly what I mean, and it sickens me

The real divide is up/down ( income/class-wise ) and not left/right; social issues muddying the waters.

[appalachiablue]

8. +1 That's for sure- up/down

[WillyT]

6. Huge K & R !!! - Thank You !!!