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To: Magnum44

This was the TPA. The TPA enables the TPP to proceed to negotiation, then the TPP gets voted on by Congress. But only in an up or down fashion, no amendments, and only a 51 vote threshold needed to pass in the Senate, instead of the Constitution threshold of 67 votes (2/3rds present) for a treaty to be approved.

So if the Senate approves TPA, the TPP is a go, and Congress will see it when it has been negotiated. The parts of it that are known are under seal, and members of Congress have to go to a special room, and in the presence of a proctor, are given one page at a time to read, and it is something like 600 pages so far.

And only a handful of our 535 people in Congress have even bothered to do so.


114 posted on 06/18/2015 12:34:21 PM PDT by exit82 ("The Taliban is on the inside of the building" E. Nordstrom 10-10-12)
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To: exit82

As advertised, TPA means the final negotiation must be made public for 2 months before any vote. That seems ok to me, however the 51 votes vs 2/3rds is not clear to me. I was not aware of that specifically in TPA. But there are many things the Senate votes on that do not require 2/3rds majority. If the vote is on a trade agreement, I am not sure what qualifies such an agreement to be called a treaty (as in a mutual defense treaty that could have us fighting someone else’s war). I don’t trust this admin or congressional leadership one inch, but I cant see how this passing makes the situation worse than the selling out of this country that is currently taking place.


116 posted on 06/18/2015 12:48:09 PM PDT by Magnum44 (I have had just about enough)
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