Posted on 04/16/2015 11:49:33 AM PDT by Theoria
The leaders of Congress’s tax-writing committees reached agreement Thursday on legislation to give President Obama “fast track” authority to negotiate an ambitious trade accord with 11 other Pacific nations, beginning what is sure to be one of the toughest legislative battles of his last 19 months in office.
The “trade promotion authority” bill — likely to be unveiled Thursday afternoon — would give Congress the power to vote on the Trans-Pacific Partnership once it is completed, but would deny lawmakers the chance to amend what would be the largest trade deal since the North American Free Trade Agreement.
Senator Orrin G. Hatch, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, and Representative Paul D. Ryan of Wisconsin, chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, had to agree to stringent requirements for the trade deal to win over Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon, the ranking Democrat on the finance panel. Those requirements included a human-rights negotiating objective that has never existed in trade agreements, according to lawmakers involved in the talks.
The legislation would also make any final trade agreement public for 60 days before the president signs it, and up to four months before Congress votes. If the agreement, negotiated by the United States Trade Representative, fails to meet the objectives laid out by Congress — on labor, environmental and human rights standards — a 60-vote majority in the Senate could shut off “fast track” trade rules and open the deal to amendments.
“We got assurances that U.S.T.R. and the president will be negotiating within the parameters defined by Congress,” said Representative Dave Reichert, Republican of Washington and a senior member of the Ways and Means Committee.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
'but would deny lawmakers the chance to amend what would be the largest trade deal since the North American Free Trade Agreement. '
Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon, the ranking Democrat on the finance panel.
Why are ANY DEMONRATS on the Panel?? Harry Reid never would have allowed it!
Wyden, wants to send timber to China..I’m surprised the enviro’s haven’t burned him on a ecologically protected stake...
That skunk Orrin Hatch actually stated in public he wanted to give China our complete patent data base. He couldn’t see anything wrong with that.
That’s how stupid the man is.
The Biggest Sell Out of the American public since Communist China was given Most Favored Nation status
Hatch and Ryan want to give Congressional power to Obama?
Where in the Constitution does it say Congress can be excluded from doing its job?
Sad. Sad. Sad.
Very good question.
Strange silence on his part.
Congress’s tax-writing committees reached agreement Thursday on legislation to give President Obama “fast track” authority to negotiate an ambitious trade accord with 11 other Pacific nations,....
Saw this one coming a while back...wonder what they got in return for doing this? Had to be something as much rides on this for Obama.
“We got assurances that U.S.T.R. and the president will be negotiating within the parameters defined by Congress,”
..... said Representative Dave Reichert, Republican of Washington and a senior member of the Ways and Means Committee.
What idiots.....since when has this administration ever operated within any parameters of Congress or anything else! Just fools and idiots..that’s all they are.
My first take on this was that they had surrendered the whole thing to him. I read that they had retained the ability to vote it down. They just can’t change the agreement.
Of course they won’t vote against it. These men are convinced trade is going to save our nation, even though the type of trade we have had going on is destroying it.
It puts our people out of work. It causes others to have to take jobs that pay half as much as they used to make. It increases our trade deficits.
This isn’t productive unless you’re George Soros or another Leftist that hates the U. S.
The so-called fast-track legislation, makes it easier for Obama to control... bringing Trans-Pacific Partnership talks to a conclusion without Congressional imput UNTIL the deals in place.... once the deal is reached, Congress brings up the “backend” rather than frontend, to approve or reject it with no amendments.
I cannot believe they are falling for yet more power given to Obam on anything let alone believing any “assurances” will be followed....that’s not how Obama works.
More free trade horseshyte. The treason never ends
You cannot hand Obama power like this and believe he will abide by any assurances ....these are just footnotes to him..if that.
Further it puts Congress at the 'back-end'....with no ability for amendment's....
So Obama makes the deals and it's either a up or down vote.... Why do we even have a Congress????
Congress again proving they’re ready to ‘Surrender Control’ on pretty much everything anymore....we might just as well not have one as they hand in glove slip their corrupt hands into Obama’s!
I said before this stuff isn’t going to be stopped because it’s all about uniting Canada, Mexico and the USA as one International Trading block.....and the borders will never be closed for that.
It’s a fair question. I can only think it would be worse if the Democrats were in the majority right now. I know it’s bad, but at the present time he has no option when it comes to really bad stuff, unless he issues an Executive Order. If the Demos were in charge, he’d simply sign the legislation that put into law what he wants.
Everyone here knows McConnell and Boehner are worthless scumbags.
Hollywood and the music industry are in on this fully as they see potential for some very lucrative copyright protections ....how the heck their industry got in on this trade deal speaks volumes!
The trouble is even though it would be worse if Democrats were in control....the fact the Republicans simply hand things over without considering what the people think remains the elephant in the room every time.....and they ignore it with no thought to the loss of their seats as the musical chairs assure them they will loose nothing at all.
I’m sympathetic to that view, and I am not trying to state that Congress is anywhere near exercising it’s oversight role today. Congress is failing it’s job.
Recent Executive Orders point to the fact that Obama knew he couldn’t get something passed by Congress.
If it was a Democrat Congress, I believe he easily could have.
That’s all my point was sought to address.
We agree Congress is a pathetic shadow of what it should be today.
That’s the way I see it.
As a policy, putting your neighbors on unemployment, so you can make a little more profit is evil.
In a closed market, you have to pay only the wages you can, in order to survive. We all agree with that market dynamic.
Making fellow citizens compete with foreign nationals making dirt wages is wrong.
You can’t support a neighborhood, a community, a town, a country, a region, a state or a federal government by putting citizens out of work.
If we had full employment and decent wages, we would:
1. Create a better life for our citizens
2. Fund every reasoned government duty locally to federally
3. End citizens having to get government payments to survive
4. Create enough wealth for citizens to improve their lifestyles generation to generation again
5. Pay down the federal debt
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