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Posted on 05/13/2015 3:22:23 PM PDT by Plummz
(MANCHESTER, N.H. — ) Frustrated by being required to find his way to a private “dungeon” to read the Trans Pacific Partnership agreement, Rand Paul said Monday he is a “no vote” on a provision to allow President Obama to complete the deal on a fast track.
The Republican presidential candidate said in an interview in Manchester he will vote against granting Obama trade promotion authority, which limits Congress to only up or down votes on trade deals. A vote on “TPA” is expected as early as Tuesday on the Senate floor.
The Kentucky senator spent part of the day in New Hampshire before heading back to Washington for a late afternoon vote.
He held a town hall at the Londonderry Lions Club, an event that was at least partially overshadowed by a top New Hampshire staffer licking the camera lens of a pro-Democratic video tracker. The video of David Chesley quickly went viral on social media.
Paul told WMUR.com the Trans Pacific Partnership agreement “is being held under lock and key” by the Obama administration “because they’re afraid that if the public knows what we are going to vote on, that somehow that would destroy the republic.”
Members of Congress must go to office of the U.S. Trade Representative to see a copy of the agreement, but are not allowed to take notes, make copies or bring any members of their staffs.
“I’ve told leadership I’m a ‘no’ vote” on trade promotion authority, Paul said. “I’m hesitant to give blanket authority on stuff we haven’t seen. I’m not saying there wouldn’t be a time I could be for it, if I’d seen the trade agreement, and it’s fine,” Paul said.
“I still might vote for the trade agreement, but I hate giving up power. We give up so much power from Congress to the presidency, and with them being so secretive on the treaty, it just concerns me what’s in the treaty,” he said.
(Update: On Monday night, Matthew McAlvanah, spokesman for the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, issued the following statement:
"The text of the Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations has been available for members of Congress to read since 2012 at their request. Earlier this year, the administration took the additional step of placing copies of the text in the Capitol building for members of Congress to review at their convenience.
"Members of Congress can bring staffs and take notes when they review the document. A number of Senators have chosen to read the text. In addition, once the negotiations are complete, the full text of the agreement will be available for the public and members of Congress to review for two months before the president even signs the agreement in the first place and many more months before any vote in Congress is ever taken."
McAlvanah continued, "It is simply untrue that members of Congress must go to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative to see the text. The procedures that are followed regarding TPP are consistent with the procedures of the Senate for handling other classified material.
"Trade Promotion Authority cedes no authority to the president whatsoever. It is a law that provides the adminstration instructions on what to negotiate, imposes requirements on the administration for congressional consultation, and reiterates that Congress must approve any agreement before it can enter into force.")
(GOP presidential hopeful also discusses key NSA ruling in WMUR.com interview)
Does Congress possess the Constitutional authority to surrender it’s Constitutional powers? I think not.
For those wondering who voted in favor of this demonic bill, I give my FRiends the list. I have a friend who emailed Senator Ted Cruz’s Chief of Staff Paul Teller about Ted Cruz’s vote. I hope he gets a timely answer.
HR 1314 (TPP) vote:
Grouped By Vote Position
YEAs -—52:
Alexander (R-TN)
Ayotte (R-NH)
Barrasso (R-WY)
Blunt (R-MO)
Boozman (R-AR)
Burr (R-NC)
Capito (R-WV)
Carper (D-DE)
Cassidy (R-LA)
Coats (R-IN)
Cochran (R-MS)
Collins (R-ME)
Corker (R-TN)
Cornyn (R-TX)
Cotton (R-AR)
Crapo (R-ID)
Cruz (R-TX)
Daines (R-MT)
Enzi (R-WY)
Ernst (R-IA)
Fischer (R-NE)
Flake (R-AZ)
Gardner (R-CO)
Grassley (R-IA)
Hatch (R-UT)
Heller (R-NV)
Hoeven (R-ND)
Inhofe (R-OK)
Isakson (R-GA)
Johnson (R-WI)
Kirk (R-IL)
Lankford (R-OK)
Lee (R-UT)
McCain (R-AZ)
Moran (R-KS)
Murkowski (R-AK)
Paul (R-KY)
Perdue (R-GA)
Portman (R-OH)
Risch (R-ID)
Roberts (R-KS)
Rounds (R-SD)
Sasse (R-NE)
Scott (R-SC)
Sessions (R-AL)
Shelby (R-AL)
Sullivan (R-AK)
Thune (R-SD)
Tillis (R-NC)
Toomey (R-PA)
Vitter (R-LA)
Wicker (R-MS)
NAYs -—45:
Baldwin (D-WI)
Bennet (D-CO)
Blumenthal (D-CT)
Boxer (D-CA)
Brown (D-OH)
Cantwell (D-WA)
Cardin (D-MD)
Casey (D-PA)
Coons (D-DE)
Donnelly (D-IN)
Durbin (D-IL)
Feinstein (D-CA)
Franken (D-MN)
Gillibrand (D-NY)
Heinrich (D-NM)
Heitkamp (D-ND)
Hirono (D-HI)
Kaine (D-VA)
King (I-ME)
Klobuchar (D-MN)
Leahy (D-VT)
Manchin (D-WV)
Markey (D-MA)
McCaskill (D-MO)
McConnell (R-KY)
Menendez (D-NJ)
Merkley (D-OR)
Mikulski (D-MD)
Murphy (D-CT)
Murray (D-WA)
Nelson (D-FL)
Peters (D-MI)
Reed (D-RI)
Reid (D-NV)
Sanders (I-VT)
Schatz (D-HI)
Schumer (D-NY)
Shaheen (D-NH)
Stabenow (D-MI)
Tester (D-MT)
Udall (D-NM)
Warner (D-VA)
Warren (D-MA)
Whitehouse (D-RI)
Wyden (D-OR)
Not Voting - 3:
Booker (D-NJ)
Graham (R-SC)
Rubio (R-FL
Good to hear I actually agree with Paul about something!
So Sessions and Paul voted for it then...
Zero told (D’s) that this deal was “a personal thing”
And the (D’s) in turn shafted him. Just like the one the USA received in the last 6 years. They may be distancing themselves preparatory to 2016
I'm sure an explanation will be forthcoming from Senator Cruz. He's not part of the GOPe and, thus, is always transparent and above board. As for this vote, it was most assuredly NOT in support of hussein or his illegal regime. Cruz is a man of substance with access to a lot of data that made his Yea vote one of principle -- challenging Warren, the commie.
According to jonrick’s list, Session, Paul, Cruz, Vitter, all voted for while all Democrats except Carper voted against. I think this was a strategic vote on the part of conservative Senators. They knew the Democrats were going to stall the bill. Sessions is adamantly opposed. The article is referring to a future vote on the final bill.
Paul says he’s a no.
Pretty sure Sessions will be, too.
Will Cruz?
Hope so...
I hope this is strategery. I will find out when my friend gets a response from his friend Paul Teller.
Thanks :)
What is Paul Teller up to now since Scalise forced him out of the republican Study Committee?
Paul Teller is Senator Ted Cruz’s Chief of Staff.
Sen. Cruz: Congress Must Prohibit Obama From Abusing TPA to Change Immigration Law
I figured it would take some time for the Cruz staff to wade through the mountains of legalese in this incredibly complicated and multi-part legislation to find the parts with the greatest potential to be abused through Obama's treachery.
The big question now is whether McConnell will allow the Senate to consider this amendment and others that surely will follow from Cruz and other conservatives.
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I am embarrassed by my man Cruz’ vote to SUPPORT Maobama on this issue. Bob
There’s nothing wrong with the abacus. It worked very well from 2700 -2300 B.C. and is still in use today.
This TPP or TPA bill is the worst bill ever:
The controversial TPP, of course, is disguised as a treaty to promote “free trade” — more properly described as managed or corporatist trade — among nations surrounding the Pacific. However, the TPP agreement, currently being negotiated behind closed doors by governments, dictatorships, and special interests, includes some major surprises. As The New American reported recently, a leaked chapter of the TPP deal would create NAFTA-style international “tribunals” with the purported authority to override American laws, courts, and even the U.S. and state constitutions — all for the benefit of special interests, foreigners, and crony capitalists. The American people and self-government would be the big losers.
Another chapter of the agreement making headlines this week, meanwhile, purports to regulate immigration policies among TPP signatories. “The Trans-Pacific Partnership includes an entire chapter on immigration,” observed Curtis Ellis, executive director of the American Jobs Alliance, in a post for The Hill. “It is a Trojan horse for Obama’s immigration agenda. House members who were ready to defund the Department of Homeland Security to stop President Obama’s executive action on immigration must not give him TPA, which he will use to ensure his immigration actions are locked in when he leaves office.”
Your list contradicts the story. Are you sure it’s correct?
What a fickin snake
Sen Cruz voted for cloture too which will allow this Amnesty bill to get ram thru with a simple majority.
So did Sessions and Cotton too.
These people are traitors .
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