Ted Cruz 2016 : TPA Senate Vote Good : TPA is NOT Secret Agrement (TPA & TPP Different) : 2015-06-12

Texas Supporting Senator Ted Cruz ^ | 2015-06-12 | Toby Marie Walker

[Patton@Bastogne]

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A Note to Conservatives on Trade Agreements


Senator Cruz entirely understands the widespread suspicion of the President. Nobody has been more vocal in pointing out the President’s lawlessness or more passionate about fighting his usurpation of congressional authority.

Senator Cruz would not and will not give President Obama one more inch of unrestricted power.



There have been a lot of questions and concerns about 2the ongoing Pacific trade negotiations. Many of those concerns, fueled by the media, stem from confusion about Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) and the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). Let’s unpack the issues one by one.



What are TPA and TPP?


TPA stands for Trade Promotion Authority, also known as “fast track”. TPA is a process by which trade agreements are approved by Congress. Through TPA, Congress sets out up-front objectives for the Executive branch to achieve in free trade negotiations; in exchange for following those objectives, Congress agrees to hold an up-or-down vote on trade agreements without amendments. For the past 80 years, it has proven virtually impossible to negotiate free-trade agreements without the fast-track process.



TPP stands for Trans-Pacific Partnership. TPP is a specific trade agreement currently being negotiated by the United States and 11 other countries, including Canada, Japan, Australia, and New Zealand. China is not a negotiating partner. There is no final language on TPP because negotiations are still ongoing and have been since late 2009. Neither the Senate nor the House has voted yet on the TPP. There will be no vote on TPP until the negotiations are over and the final agreement is sent to Congress.



Some Key Facts:


· Neither the Senate nor the House has voted yet on the TPP.

· Congress is the only entity that can make U.S. law and nothing about TPP or TPA could change that.

· TPA gives the Congress more control up-front over free trade agreements.

· TPA mandates transparency by requiring all trade agreements (including TPP) to be made public for at least 60 days before the Congress can act on them.



Does TPA give up the Senate’s treaty power?

No. Under the Constitution, there are two ways to make binding law: (1) through a treaty, ratified by two-thirds of the Senate, or (2) through legislation passed by a majority of both Houses of Congress. TPA employs the second constitutional path, as trade bills always have done. It has long been recognized that the Constitution’s Origination Clause applies to trade bills, requiring the House of Representatives’ involvement.



Does the United States give up Sovereignty by entering into TPP?

No. Nothing in the agreement forces Congress to change any law. TPA explicitly provides that nothing in any trade agreement can change U.S. law. Congress is the only entity that can make U.S. law, and Congress is the only entity that can change U.S. law. Nothing about TPP or TPA could change that.



Does Senator Ted Cruz support TPP?

Senator Cruz has not taken a position either in favor or against TPP. He will wait until the agreement is finalized and he has a chance to study it carefully to ensure that the agreement will open more markets to American-made products, create jobs, and grow our economy. Senator Cruz has dedicated his professional career to defending U.S. sovereignty and the U.S. Constitution. He will not support any trade agreement that would diminish or undermine either.



Does Senator Ted Cruz support TPA?

Yes. Senator Cruz voted in favor of TPA earlier this year because it breaks the logjam that is preventing the U.S. from entering into trade deals that are good for American workers, American businesses, and our economy. Ronald Reagan emphatically supported free trade, and Senator Cruz does as well. He ran for Senate promising to support free trade, and he is honoring that commitment to the voters.

Free trade helps American farmers, ranchers, and manufacturers; indeed, one in five American jobs depends on trade, in Texas alone 3 million jobs depend on trade. When we open up foreign markets, we create American jobs.

TPA also strengthens Congress’ hand in trade negotiations, and provides transparency by making the agreement (including TPP) public for at least 60 days before the Congress can act on any final agreement. Without TPA, there is no such transparency, and the Congress’ role in trade agreements is weaker.



Is TPA Constitutional?

TPA and similar trade authority has been upheld by the Supreme Court as constitutional for more than 100 years.



Does TPA give the President more authority?

No. TPA ensures that Congress has the ability to set the objectives up-front for free trade agreements.

Trade Promotion Authority has been used to reduce trade barriers since FDR. When Harry Reid took over the Senate, he killed it. History demonstrates that it is almost impossible to negotiate a free-trade agreement without TPA. Right now without TPA, America is unable to negotiate free-trade agreements, putting the United States at a disadvantage to China, which is taking the lead world-wide. It is not in America’s interests to have China writing the rules of international trade.

Moreover, Obama is going to be president for just 18 more months. TPA is six-year legislation. If we want the next president (hopefully a Republican) to be able to negotiate free-trade agreements to restart our economy and create jobs here at home then we must reinstate TPA. With a Republican president in office, Senate Democrats would almost certainly vote party-line to block TPA, so now is the only realistic chance.



How can Senator Cruz trust Obama?

He doesn’t. Not at all. No part of Senator Cruz’s support for TPA was based on trusting Obama. However, under TPA, every trade deal is still subject to approval by Congress. If the Obama Administration tries to do something terrible in a trade agreement, Congress can vote it down. And most congressional Democrats will always vote no—because union bosses oppose free trade, so do most Democrats—which means a handful of conservative congressional Republicans have the votes to kill any bad deal. That’s a serious check on presidential power.



Isn’t TPP a “living agreement”?

That particular phrase—a foolish and misleading way to put it—is found in the “summary” portion of one particular section of the draft agreement. That section allows member nations to amend the agreement in the future, expressly subject to the approval of their governments. Thus, if some amendment were proposed in the future, Congress would have to approve it before it went into effect.



But isn’t TPA a secret agreement?

No, it is not. The full text of TPA (fast track) is public. What the Senate just voted for was TPA, not TPP.

Right now, the text of TPP is classified. That is a mistake. Senator Cruz has vigorously called on the Obama administration to make the full text of TPP open to the public immediately. The text being hidden naturally only fuels concerns about what might be in it. Senator Cruz has read the current draft of TPP, and it should be made public now.



Critically, under TPA, TPP cannot be voted on until after the text has been public for 60 days. Therefore, everyone will be able to read it long before it comes up for a vote.



Couldn’t Obama use a trade agreement to grant amnesty to illegal immigrants?

No. There is one section of TPP that concerns immigration, but it affects only foreign nations—the United States has explicitly declined to sign on to that section.

Moreover, Senator Cruz introduced a TPA amendment to expressly prohibit any trade deal from attempting to alter our immigration laws. [LINK to release.]

Two Republican Senators (Lindsey Graham and Rand Paul) blocked the Senate’s consideration of that amendment, but the House of Representatives has agreed to include that language in the final text of the trade legislation. Thus, assuming the House honors that public commitment, federal law will explicitly prohibit any trade deal from impacting immigration.

And, regardless, no trade agreement can change U.S. law; only Congress can change U.S. law.









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[Mariner]

Yep, Cruz will never recover from this.

Never.

[Enlightened1]

Ted Cruz CERTAINLY is no Ronald Reagan.

[RitaOK]

Well, I don’t know if Cruz has killed his campaign if all of the candidates are voting for it, but yes he has missed a warning for sure from a decent man, in Jeff Sessions.

The Cruzers should have a modicum of curiosity why Sessions would fear this agreement if it’s such a peach of a deal under a Marxist like Obama no less!

Note to Ted:
“Please, buck up. ANSWER Jeff.”

[Mariner]

"Nor does he explain how Senator Jeff Sessions, who has seen the secret deal, says exactly the opposite."

Yep.

No other explanation is possible.

Either Cruz or Sessions is lying.

Who to believe?

[P-Marlowe]

A vote for TPA is a vote for TPP. If TPA passes, then TPP is a done deal.

By voting for TPA, Cruz has voted for the TPP. It is like the cloture votes. A vote for cloture on a fillibustered bill is a vote for the bill itself. Cruz knows that. He’s said it dozens of times.

Cruz supports this top secret deal and even if he later votes against it, it is merely going to be a CYA vote so he can tell all those sheeple that he opposed it.

[cripplecreek]

Answer Jeff?

LOL they worked on making it better together. Maybe you wizards should ask Sessions specifically about Ted Cruz.

[WIBamian]

Cruz and Walker are at their core really Transnational Progressivists.

This is because ObamaTrade owes no allegiance to the American citizen.

It is now about technocrats controlling the global citizen, who now live in nations without borders.

Meaning the redistribution of wealth goes to the global corporations first and then the rest is used as bribes to keep competing global groups in check.

And if these global groups do not comply with the demand of the technocrats, then the permission to terminate rebels with extreme prejudice will be authorized.

[JayAr36]

And the corruption goes on, total and absolute, with no end in sight. Sure give the bony phony more power to screw us again. After Obamacare why should we trust anything from this government?

[Diogenesis]

Cruz just called Sessions a liar.

Cruz is TOAST.

[Diogenesis]

Cruz is the liar.

I heard him previously say he did NOT read TPA.
Now he says he did.

Cruz is TOAST.

[free_life]

TPA guarantees TPP and Cruz knows it and so does anyone else who has spent 10 minutes looking at this farce Americans are being fed by Obama and the GOP. Sessions has spoken the truth about this and only a few others like Paul.

[MortMan]

Cruz is treating thinking conservatives like children. Like we can’t gather our own facts. Hugely insulting and obamaesque.

I disagree. Cruz is treating thinking conservatives like debating opponents, where he lays out his position and the reasons behind it. If thinking conservatives disagree, they can (and do) lay out their positions and rationale in an opposing statement.

While it may be correct to oppose TPA as a conservative position (I have not digested the TPA text, so I will not try to stand on one side or the other at the moment), saying that Cruz is being Obamaesque for laying out his reasoning like this is a mistake, in my opinion. He, at least, is trying to convince skeptics based on his understanding of the actual bill, as opposed to grandstanding and pontificating based on what people may wish to hear.

It may become true that Cruz's support for TPA is a millstone around his candidacy's neck, but his treatment of those that disagree with him is, again in my opinion, entirely honorable and forthright. He is not engaging in name calling, nor trying to shame opponents - he is explaining his position based on the facts as he understands them. I wish more politicians would act this way, personally.

[RitaOK]

DO share.

As the hour is upon us, exactly where is it now, that we can read where Sessions and Cruz, together, are now giving this dog a pass in this “hurry up” formation?

It’s a decent question.

[RitaOK]

DO share.

As the hour is upon us, exactly where is it now, that we can read where Sessions and Cruz, together, are now giving this dog a pass in this “hurry up” formation?

It’s a decent question.

[zzeeman]

Bump, thanks for the link, listening live now!!

[cripplecreek]

Might as well be talking to cattle.

Kiss the ring and shut up.

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3299127/posts

[xzins]

TPA is fast track.

Under fast track, any trade bill can be kept secret until the final 24 hours before the final vote. Then there are no amendments allowed, and, in fact, any debate is controlled.

Then there is the vote.

Is there any way that this is a sane method for running a government?

[RitaOK]

WTH?

Your linky there had nothing on Sessions and Cruz coming together on this dog called, TPP, sport.

[tanknetter]

Please show us where Cruz acknowleges, and justifies his vote for, the provision in TPA removing the filibuster and reducing the final vote to a simple majority.

Keep in mind before you respond that he’s the guy who successfully shut down the government by using the filibuster.

My parents always taught me that lies of omission were still lies. And lies aren’t “honest.”

[tanknetter]

The beauty of this is that you can believe both or, perhaps, don’t have to believe either.

The TPP will be made public before the vote. The public will get to see it and provide feedback to their elected officials on it.

But Cruz voted for stripping out the filibuster and making it a simple majority vote. THATS the real issue here. If Cruz now votes against TPP he’s pulled a John Kerry “I voted for the bill before I voted against it” move.