Trade Promotion Authority
Each one of the so-called stakeholders hires lobbyists. The lobbyists them purchase "access." This is the American form of bribery and our elected legislative guys and gals spend most of their time chasing money from lobbyists. To get that money, the bidding of the lobbyist must be done. Most of the legislation is actually written by lobbyists.
Because most of the legislation is repugnant to the general public and legislators are kept so busy chasing money, summaries of legislation is also written and distributed to each legislator. If effect, the summary is a sales pitch. Along with these sales pitches comes language for the legislator to respond to concerned constituents. This verbiage calms some constituents, confuses some constituents and angers those of us who are either savvy enough to figure things out by reading the legislation or use connection we have established to give us the real scope.
Sometimes though, the legislation is so deceptive and harmful, our legislators don't get the legislation until the last moment. That is done so that those of us who are savvy enough to read and understand what the legislation says and more importantly what type of blank checks have been inserted for later use, can't get the story out to those we serve who matter, the American public.
The Trade Promotion can be used by unethical presidents to obtain any number of favors, most of which are entirely unethical and some of which if discovered are illegal. In this case, the story line is that the Trade Promotion Authority will increase jobs here at home. This too is a bald faced lie. It will increase certain new jobs at home but decrease many more old jobs here at home. The second part is of course left out.
The administration has repeatedly rebuffed requests from elected members of Congress from both parties for access to the texts of the agreements, all the while proclaiming that the TPP/TTIP process is proceeding under “maximum transparency.” A bald faced lie. This time, the lie will be even more expensive than ObamaCare.
This past weekend, the president went golfing with two oil company executives and an executive from Halliburton. The details of their conversations may never be known until too late.
A fierce behind-the-scenes battle over Trade Promotion Authority (TPA), better known as Fast Track, is under way. It is not currently a top headline story, but it soon will be. The high-pressure lobbying and arm-twisting has been intensifying in recent weeks and congressional leaders are pushing for a vote on TPA soon after Congress returns from its Easter recess on April 13.
Passage of TPA/Fast Track is crucial to passage of President Obama’s two mammoth trade agreements, the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP). Critics have dubbed the still-secret pacts “ObamaTrade,” and refer to TPA as the “Pelosi excuse,” a reference to then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s infamous argument in favor of ObamaCare: “We have to pass the bill so that you can find out what is in it.”
As with ObamaCare, the problems with ObamaTrade have to do not only with the agreements themselves but with the process used to produce them and the process now being proposed (TPA) to enact them. The ObamaTrade TPP and TTIP have been negotiated in secrecy, not only without congressional consultation, but in defiance of repeated congressional requests for access to the documents.
The texts that have been made public thus far have come via leaks, not via the administration’s promised “transparency.” Under TPA/Fast Track rules, these complex agreements covering dozens of topics and comprising hundreds of pages of tricky legalese would be sprung on Congress for a quick up-or-down vote. The respective committees of the House and Senate would have 45 days after receiving the TPP or TTIP to report out the bills, or they would be automatically discharged. Then each body must vote within 15 days. No amendments are allowed and debate in each house is limited to 20 hours.
Following, is an email reply I just received from Senator John Boozman, who is well know to be a Fascist (F) with an (R) behind his name. You can clearly see the talking points. I asked him to vote no on Fast Tracking the Trade Treaties for Obama but as you will note, he is following the directives of the lobbyists he represents, not the interests of his constituents, nor the constitution. The constitution does not give authority for any Congress to outsource trade treaties to any president.
Dr. Ron Bartels (Address Redacted)
Heber Springs, AR 72543
Thank you for contacting me to express your concerns with Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) and related trade agreements currently under negotiation. It is good to hear from you.
As you know, TPA, otherwise known as "fast track authority," gives the president the authority to negotiate trade agreements that Congress can approve or disapprove. Fast-track negotiating authority is granted to the president by Congress. In the past, fast track trade negotiating procedures have increased our diplomatic relations and made it possible for the executive branch to negotiate credibly on complex non-tariff trade measures that require congressional action to implement. The key is coming up not just with free trade, but fair trade. I agree that some of the early trade agreements were flawed and that Congress must be very careful that there is level playing field so we can compete fairly in this country.
Currently, both the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) are proposed trade related agreements under negotiation by the United States and several other nations. TPP involves a free trade agreement (FTA) currently under negotiation among 12 nations including the U.S., while TTIP involves a trade and investment agreement between the U.S and the European Union (EU). Completion of these trade deals is largely codependent upon the outcome of TPA.
I certainly understand your thoughts on the issue. However, trade is essential to job creation and economic security. I am not for just any trade agreement, but I do believe that trade is a very important aspect of our country's economic landscape, and support trade agreements that benefit American workers, businesses, and manufacturing. Congress has a major role in the negotiation and implementation of these agreements. At the same time, any agreement will have to be approved by both houses of Congress as well.Therefore, please be assured that I will continue to monitor the progress of TPA, TPP and TTIP and should related legislation come to the floor of the U.S. Senate for a vote, I will keep your thoughts in mind.
Again, thank you for contacting me on this very important issue. Please be sure to sign up for our e-newsletter to stay informed on what we’re doing on behalf of Arkansans. I look forward to your continued correspondence.
Sincerely,
John Boozman
U.S. Senator
U.S. Senator
As we can see, Senator John Boozman is going to sell us out by transferring Congressional authority to the president. That is awful enough, but this president?
Senator John Boozman will not get my support nor my vote. I will vote for a real conservative or leave the ballot blank. I refuse to vote for someone just because they have a (R) behind their name.
The point is this, whenever an elected representative prefers what the lobbyists want, over what common ordinary Americans need and want, they are in fact a simple Fascist. Really, they should then have a (F) for fascist after their name.
I will still continue to send messages to the senator, just like I did with former Senator Pryor. I just will NOT vote for or support him. Being a loyal American is far more important than just voting blindly for Republicans. It was estimated that when Bob Dole ran and lost the opportunity for president, some 5 million voters left the ballot blank. For John McCain, is was over 8 million voters and for Mitt Romney, it was over 14 million loyal American voters who went to the polls and did not choose the Republican nominee for president but would have chosen the Republican choice if their had been a real conservative to vote for.
Why does that happen?
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