[ Does it, or does it not take 2/3rds majority vote by Congress TODAY to pass a Trade treaty? ]
Let’s check the article:
[Forty-Four years later, the Congress passed the Reciprocal Trade Agreement Act of 1934 granting the President the authority to enter into agreements with foreign nations, without the approval of Congress. This vastly expanded the President’s power from the previous legislation passed in 1890. Given the expanded role granted to the President, the legislation was challenged and once again upheld by the courts and was upheld as constitutional.
With emerging markets around the world and new opportunities for trade with multiple nations, the Congress, citing limitations within the 1934 agreement, sought to establish new legislation that would allow for multinational negotiations. The 1974 Trade Act gave the President new powers to negotiate with multiple nations, but this time they built in provisions limiting the Presidents power to enter into agreements alone.
The Trade Act would require the President to seek Congressional approval from both houses, as well as follow a strict set of guidelines set forth by Congress in section 151 of the legislation. In return the President is guaranteed a vote by the Congress within a set period of time. ]
The last Sentence is troubling:
[ It also would remove the amendment process. ]
This is like saying you trust a liar to always speak the truth becuase this time he promised to tell you truth. I don;t trust congress to reform itself. EVER!
Before explaining TPA, it is helpful to understand the difference between a U.S.Treaty and a Congressional-Executive Act. Throughout our history America has entered into many treaties covering everything from war to trade. Typically treaties are reserved for negotiating foreign policy agreements between individual countries.
Treaties are negotiated by the President without input from Congress. Once a treaty is completed and signed, the President submits the proposed treaty to the Senate only, for a 2/3 majority vote. There is no vote in the House of Representatives to approve a treaty. Also, there is no guarantee that the Senate will even take up the treaty negotiated by the President.
President George Washington found this to be the case when he submitted his first treaty to the Senate. As he waited outside the chamber for them to consider his treaty with the American Indians, the Senate instead refused to acknowledge it and left without considering it.
The use of treaties for trade has been almost nonexistent after 1890 when the Congress gave the President authority to negotiate tariffs and suspend duty free tariffs. That decision was challenged and the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) upheld that Congress did not usurp their constitutional powers to the President. This decision would serve as the basis for legislation that would give and restrict the President’s power over the years.
This later became known as the Congressional-Executive Act, which differentiated itself from a treaty which requires the 2/3 majority vote in the Senate. It is this Congressional-Executive Act that has been used for almost every American trade deal since the 1890’s.