[CTC] Statements on Senate vote

Sat May 23 04:57:52 PDT 2015

A few reactions to yesterday’s Fast Track vote in the Senate...

Retweet: BREAKING: Senate sends Fast Track bill to die in the House #TPP #NoFastTrack <https://twitter.com/citizenstrade/status/601917583454011392>

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USW Blasts Senators Who Voted To Stifle Debate and Approve Fast Track

Pittsburgh (May 22) -- United Steelworkers (USW) International President Leo W. Gerard released the following statement today after the U.S. Senate voted to limit debate on fast track trade negotiating authority, then approved the final measure by a vote of 62 to 37.

“Senators who voted to stifle debate and approve fast track so quickly have undermined rights of working Americans. With less than one full day of debate, and refusing to consider hundreds of important amendments, the Senate essentially took a big step to provide this and future presidents with the authority to negotiate trade agreements any way they choose. In addition, Congress abdicated its responsibility to fully engage in the process.  

“Republicans in so many areas have criticized the President but, when it comes to trade, the majority of them are beholden to corporate backers who are salivating at the prospect of increased profits at the expense of workers here in America and around the globe.

“Trade deals like NAFTA have constricted economic growth, contributing to stagnating and declining wages, while fueling offshoring and outsourcing of production. All of this contributes to our country’s rising income inequality. But, rather than fully debate those issues and provide effective measures to reform and update our trade policies, the Republican-led Senate shoved fast track through the Senate.

“Unfortunately, a handful of Democrats joined with Republicans in this effort. The majority of their Democratic colleagues voted on behalf of U.S. workers. Those who voted for cloture and for final passage fully share the blame.

“The approach taken by the Senate will damage U.S. production and jobs. No one voting for fast track should laud this bill. More than 150 objectives were included in fast track, but the administration has already said that they do not intend to pursue all of them. Senators who voted yes may try and take cover behind the lofty rhetoric, but the substance gives them nowhere to hide. Workers want good jobs and wages, not more false promises.

“This is a sad day. Americans expected their Senate to have a full debate about what our future trade policies should look like. What they got instead was an abbreviated debate designed to stifle dissent and discussion. Senators voting for cloture and passage made it clear that they believe the status quo is good enough. The facts prove otherwise, and, at election time, voters will remember who was on their side and who voted to sell them out.”

The USW represents 850,000 workers in North America employed among industries that include metals, rubber, chemicals, paper, oil refining, plus the service and public sectors. For more information: http://www.usw.org <http://www.usw.org/>/.

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View as webpage <https://content.sierraclub.org/press-releases/2015/05/sierra-club-statement-senate-vote-approve-fast-track-trade> 
Sierra Club Statement on Senate Vote to Approve Fast Track for Trade

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Late Friday evening, the U.S. Senate voted for the passage of the Hatch-Wyden-Ryan trade promotion authority bill, also known as "fast track." Fast track would allow the executive branch to finish negotiating trade deals like the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) <http://www.sierraclub.org/trade/trans-pacific-partnership> and then send the pact to Congress for limited debate and no amendments.

In response, Sierra Club Executive Director Michael Brune released the following statement:

“Today, the U.S. Senate passed a toxic fast-track bill, effectively giving up its ability to shape the final text of the harmful Trans-Pacific Partnership, which would increase exports of fracked gas and give major handouts to the big polluters which are backing the deal.

“We’re confident that climate and clean energy champs in the House will stand up for our families in a way that the Senate did not and say no to fast-tracking a trade deal that’s damaging to our environment and health. The time is now for those who care about the future of our planet to urge their Representatives to make the right call and reject fast track.”

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UFCW President Perrone: TPP Battle is Far From Over

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Marc Perrone, International President of the 1.3 million member United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW) <http://www.ufcw.org/>, today released the following statement after the Senate passed fast track legislation.

“Rest assured, the battle over TPP is far from over. President Obama and the supporters of fast track and the TPP want us to believe that this deal is worthy of our nation; it is not. Every hard-working family in this country deserves better than a corporate trade agreement put together in complete secrecy.

“If our elected leaders and the White House truly believe that the TPP is the right thing to do, however, they should respect the American people enough to make the full agreement public today. No more secrecy or backroom deals. UFCW members and all Americans deserve the truth. If the White House refuses to make TPP public, we must all demand it.

“It is no surprise that the American people have lost so much trust in our elected officials. Instead of promoting economic policies that are fair and just, they choose to pursue a trade agreement put together in secret, where even those voting for it, have little idea what’s in it or the impact it will have.  

“America’s hard-working families deserve the truth. They deserve a totally transparent process. Let there be no mistake, the American people will hold any Member of Congress accountable who refuses to support their right to know, and every Member of Congress should do what is right and hold the White House accountable for refusing to tell all of us the truth about what’s in the TPP. 

“The UFCW will work nonstop to defeat fast track in the House.” 

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Statement on Fast Track’s Prospects in the House
by Arthur Stamoulis, Executive Director, Citizens Trade Campaign

“Representative Ryan has never had the votes to pass Fast Track in the House.  The whole point of moving on Fast Track first in the Senate was to create a sense of momentum and inevitability for the much tougher House fight, and in that, it failed miserably.  Rather than a landslide, the final cloture vote barely squeaked by with a two-vote margin.  Fast Track faces considerably more opposition in the House, and it has no chance of passing in that chamber.

“Without the votes to pass it, expect the House consideration to be pushed back week-after-week first through June, then through July, until the bill is eventually abandoned, just like the Camp-Baucus Fast Track bill it’s modeled after was abandoned last year."

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