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New bill to Fast Track the Fast Track for the TPP

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Oregon Senator Ron Wyden joined Sen Orrin Hatch and Rep Paul Ryan in introducing a bill to fast track the TPP Fast Track bill.

That's right. After claiming that they were worried that members of Congress will feel fast-track leaves them out of the process, these three men just introduced a new secret bill to expedite the process off abdicating Congress' responsibility for the TPP.

OR Democrat Sen Ron Wyden's is being all bipartisan because: Blueberries.

Great stuff in there Ron:

Transparency: Future trade deals must be public for 60 days before the president signs them.

Oops, they forgot to make sure Congress has authority to determine what should be in a trade deal. For instance, should foreign corporations be able to sue our government for silly environmental rules or laws against poisonous lead in paint on children's toys? Should they have to sue in US courts, or do they get to staff tribunals with their own corporate attorneys?

Tough luck, Americans. But hey, you get 60 days to read the agreement before the world's wealthiest corporations start stealing from you via their clever tribunals.

Access: Every member of Congress is required by law to have access to trade negotiations.

That's great news, since Congress is full of people who will likely receive windfall profits from this egregious theft from main street Americans.

The administration must publish regular summaries of its proposals in trade negotiations.

Mr. O-Transparency already tells us everything we need to know. That's why the public option was dropped from Obamacare mere hours before they voted on the bill. That's why we had to learn about the TPP via Wikileaks.

The bill also makes major strides toward raising the bar for labor, environment and human right, & The package creates new tools to enforce trade deals and hold trading partners accountable for living up to agreements:

We don't need a bill that pretends to make these major strides while allowing the President to create his own secret agreement, regardless of what this bill directs him to do. Put the trade requirements in the TPP itself and stop trying to pawn responsibility off for an agreement that Congress never gets to debate.

Shorter version of their reasoning:

This is an emergency, people are starting to find out about our brilliant ploy to destroy the rest of America's middle class while eliminating pesky problems like court challenges. We need to pretend we're address the concerns of those who say we're abdicating our responsibilities.

Quick, let's pass this bill so folks stop asking why the TPP is secret. This way we justify the TPP's fast track and then blame the outgoing Democratic president when it all falls apart. Later, we'll be able to claim we're just members of Congress, our hands are tied...

Sounds like some members of Congress are really eager to become part of the .1% and don't care what their greed does to our Democratic Party. How embarrassing for progressive Oregon to have a senator pull such a sneaky stunt. Does Ron Wyden think Oregon's intelligent progressives won't notice his complicity in this crime against our country?

Here's a tip, Ron: Transparency means letting the public see stuff before it's passed. It means letting experts analyze and debate major policy changes before you try to slip them through, especially ones like the TPP that threaten to destroy our sovereignty, obliterate environmental protections and demolish what's left of main street America's worker's protections. We don't need new bills to encourage countries to raise the bar before negotiating with us. We need those demands specifically outlined in the trade agreements themselves.

Tell ya what, though. How about taking some of these good ideas and applying them to a bill that amends our CURRENT lousy trade agreements, like NAFTA and CAFTA.

Trading partners must adopt and maintain core international labor and environmental standards, with trade sanctions if they do not comply

Promoting human rights and democratic societies, for the first time ever, are a formal negotiating objective in trade deals,

Promoting free speech and commerce online, by calling for the free flow of digital information across national borders.

Let's see this great stuff you proposed in action for current trade, THEN we'll talk about new trade deals that help your blueberry growers.

#FauxTradeBill


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