As were many others, I was pretty pissed off when I read the leaked documents fro the Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations. And I made sure that my representative knew about it. Of course I knew that at best I would get a canned response. I just hoped it would actually address at least of little of the more egregious issued revealed in the document. Instead, this is what I got.
Thank you for contacting me regarding Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) and the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). I appreciate you taking the time to share your concerns with me on these issues.
Thank you for contacting me regarding Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) and the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). I appreciate you taking the time to share your concerns with me on these issues.
TPA, informally known as "fast track,"
is the process by which Congress authorizes the President to negotiate a
trade agreement on its behalf. In exchange for following specific
negotiating and consultation requirements in the TPA law, the President
may submit a final trade agreement to Congress for approval by an
up-down vote. However, in 2007, the law authorizing TPA expired, and as a
result any new trade agreement negotiated by the President will now be
subject to debate and modification by Congress before any agreement
could be approved.
Meanwhile, the TPP is a proposed
regional trade agreement being negotiated between the United States and
eleven other nations. Negotiations cover a wide range of issues,
including intellectual property rights, services, government
procurement, investment, rules of origin, competition, labor, and
environmental standards. In many cases, the rules being negotiated are
intended to be more rigorous than comparable rules established by the
World Trade Organization (WTO). Some topics, such as state-owned
enterprises, regulatory coherence, and supply chain competitiveness,
break new ground in negotiations.
As we face an increasingly globalized
world and economy, I believe balanced, two-way trade must be a tool in
our toolbox of economic growth and expansion. Promoting American exports
and eliminating barriers to trade in foreign countries will help us
create good-paying jobs at home and grow our economy. However, in the
past, many trade agreements that have been submitted for Congressional
consideration have included inadequate labor and environmental
provisions.
Before a final TPP agreement would be
sent to Congress for approval, it is expected that Congress would need
to first re-authorize TPA. To date, no TPA legislation has been
introduced in either the House of Representatives or the United States
Senate. However, before Congress should even consider new TPA
legislation, such a proposal must include incentives to keep well-paying
jobs at home, promote innovation and job creation, strengthen our trade
laws and enforcement agencies, and incorporate strong labor and
environmental negotiating goals.
Please know, as a senior member of the
House Committee on Ways and Means, which is charged with reviewing all
matters relating to trade, I will review any proposed TPA or
trade agreement with a sharp eye and concern for safety, labor, and
environmental protections. TPA and any trade agreements must include
incentives to help keep well-paying jobs at home, and to help spur new
American innovation and job creation across all sectors of our economy.
Rest assured I will keep your thoughts
in mind should any legislation or agreement regarding TPA and TPP come
before the Committee or the House of Representatives for consideration.
Again, thank you for sharing your
thoughts with me. Please continue to contact me on all issues of
importance to you and to our district.
Note the presumption that the only way the treaty can be submitted is if the president is granted fast-track authority, tying the hands of Congress (and the people) from having any input into the document. Note also, despite specifics being available on the content of the proposed agreement he has carefully avoided any mention of them, so he can avoid actually taking a position. No mention of how the top executives of the corporations that will benefit from this (to the detriment of most of us) have seen copies of the text, but he as a 'senior member of the House Committee on Ways and Means' has not.
Would somebody primary this guy from the left, please?
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Note the presumption that the only way the treaty can be submitted is if the president is granted fast-track authority, tying the hands of Congress (and the people) from having any input into the document. Note also, despite specifics being available on the content of the proposed agreement he has carefully avoided any mention of them, so he can avoid actually taking a position. No mention of how the top executives of the corporations that will benefit from this (to the detriment of most of us) have seen copies of the text, but he as a 'senior member of the House Committee on Ways and Means' has not.
Would somebody primary this guy from the left, please?
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