http://www.wnd.com/2015/06/senator-warns-of-another-attempt-to-pass-obamatrade/
Senator warns of another attempt to pass ObamatradePreparing 'to force through new executive powers' for Obama Published: 13 hours ago image: http://www.wnd.com/files/2012/10/Art-Moore_avatar-96x96.jpg House Democrats led the charge Friday to kill a bill that has stalled President Obama’s trade agenda, but a leading Republican opponent in the Senate warns congressional leaders are preparing next week “to force through new executive powers for President Obama.” In a stunning 302-126 defeat, the House killed a worker-aid bill – Trade Adjustment Assistance – tied to legislation that would give Obama “fast-track” authority to negotiate and expedite the passage of trade deals with minimal congressional involvement. <http://www.wnd.com/files/2015/06/jeff-sessions.jpg> image: http://www.wnd.com/files/2015/06/jeff-sessions.jpg <http://www.wnd.com/files/2015/06/jeff-sessions.jpg> [image: Description: jeff-sessions] <http://www.wnd.com/files/2015/06/jeff-sessions.jpg> Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala. Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., said in remarks provided to WND that a vote for TAA next week “is a vote to send fast-track to the president’s desk and to grant him these broad new executive authorities.” “If that happens, it will empower the president to form a Pacific Union encompassing 40 percent of the world’s economy and 12 nations – each with one equal vote,” he said. Sessions was referring to the Trans-Pacific Partnership, one of the three major trade agreements under negotiation that Obama wants to approve with fast-track authority, known officially as Trade Promotion Authority, or TPA. Under TPA, no amendments would be allowed and the trade deal would be approved on a simple up-or-down vote. *Richard Viguerie finds lessons for 2016 in the century-old battle for the soul of the Republican Party. His “Takeover: The 100-Year War for the Soul of the GOP and How Conservatives Can Finally Win It” is available at the WND Superstore. <http://superstore.wnd.com/Takeover-The-100-Year-War-for-the-Soul-of-the-GOP-and-How-Conservatives-Can-Finally-Win-Autographed>* The House held a symbolic vote Friday in which fast-track authority was approved, 219-211. But according to rules approved by the Senate, the legislation cannot advance unless the House approves both TAA and TPA. Trade Adjustment assistance provides job training and financial aid to workers who lose their jobs as a result of foreign-trade agreements like TPP. Obama’s trade agenda is opposed by a large majority of Democrats, some tea party Republicans, labor unions, environmental groups and Internet-freedom advocates. Supporters include Republican leadership and corporate lobbyists with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. As WND reported <http://www.wnd.com/2015/06/senator-to-obama-justify-keeping-trade-deal-secret/>, Sessions asked Obama last week to explain why the draft text of the Trans-Pacific Partnership should not be made public before Congress considers the legislation that would pave the way for the trade deal’s approval. He was particularly concerned about a section of the TPP that creates a new transnational governance structure known as the Trans-Pacific Partnership Commission. Sessions said the details of the new body are “extremely broad and have the earmarks of a nascent European Union.” The commission – chartered with a ‘Living Agreement’ clause – would have the authority, he said, to amend the agreement after its adoption, to add new members and to issue regulations impacting labor, immigration, environmental and commercial policy. “Once the union is formed, foreign bureaucrats will be required to meet regularly to write the commission’s rules, regulations and directives –impacting Americans’ jobs, wages and sovereignty,” Sessions said. The senator explained that fast-track authority will apply not only to the TPP but “can expedite an unlimited number of yet-unseen international compacts for six years.” One is the Trade in Services Agreement, or TISA, which provides for labor mobility among more than 50 nations, “further eroding the ability of the American people to control their own affairs,” Sessions said. *‘Procedural snafu’* Minutes before the TAA vote Friday, the House’s top Democrat, Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, took to the floor to appeal for a “better deal” for American workers. <http://www.wnd.com/files/2015/06/earnest.jpg> image: http://www.wnd.com/files/2015/06/earnest.jpg <http://www.wnd.com/files/2015/06/earnest.jpg> [image: Description: White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest] <http://www.wnd.com/files/2015/06/earnest.jpg> White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest The White House downplayed the outcome Friday, with Press Secretary Josh Earnest calling the vote a “procedural snafu.” He said he hoped a bipartisan majority could eventually be reached. “These kinds of entanglements are endemic to the House of Representatives,” Earnest said. Sessions said, however, that “Americans do not want this, did not ask for it, and are pleading from their hearts for their lawmakers to stop it.” In a statement, President Obama called on the House to reconsider the Trade Adjustment Assistance bill. He said the House’s “inaction will directly hurt about 100,000 workers and their communities annually if those members of Congress don’t reconsider.” Obama said his “top priority as president is to grow the economy and open new avenues of opportunity for hardworking Americans.” *What do YOU think? Who got the secret trade deal right? Sound off in today’s WND poll!* <http://www.wnd.com/2015/06/trade-secrets/> He argued “smart new trade agreements” will “encourage new sources of growth and job creation, so that America remains vital, dynamic, and on the cutting edge” and “to stand in their way is to do nothing but preserve the long-term status quo for American workers, and make it even harder for them to succeed.” *Republican support for Obamatrade* Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, who opposed TPA and TAA, said after the Friday votes, “Conservatives in Congress support free trade.” He said he and his colleagues “still are willing to work with our leadership to make this legislation better.’ “Our leadership tried to compromise with Democrats instead of us, and now we know that strategy failed,” he said. “We stand ready to work on free trade legislation that is both transparent and consistent with Republican principles.” <http://www.wnd.com/files/2015/06/Jim-Jordan-AP.jpg> image: http://www.wnd.com/files/2015/06/Jim-Jordan-AP.jpg <http://www.wnd.com/files/2015/06/Jim-Jordan-AP.jpg> [image: Description: Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio] <http://www.wnd.com/files/2015/06/Jim-Jordan-AP.jpg> Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio Obamatrade supporter, Rep. Pete Sessions, R-Texas, chairman of the House Rules Committee, said House Democrats “chose today to take down their own worker protection program, a policy they have strongly supported for nearly 50 years.” “Because of this, our work on this issue is not over, but I am proud of the work my colleagues have done to pass TPA, and I look forward to using the tools at the House’s disposal to get this important measure to the president’s desk,” he said. Opponents of Obamatrade say they oppose TPA because it would give too much power to a president they don’t trust. But Rep. Sessions used that very point to argue for its passage, saying, “I supported TPA today because I do not trust this president.” “President Obama has overstepped his constitutional authority many times, which is precisely why taking up the TPA language was so important,” he said. The Texas congressman explained the president “already possesses inherent authority to negotiate trade agreements with other countries on his own.” “This means that without TPA, Congress and the American people would have been stuck on the sidelines,” he argued. “Today’s passage of the TPA portion of the bill proves we can look forward to another century led by American values, principles, practices and successes when it comes to trade.” Rep. Sessions pointed out he worked with Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, to incorporate language in the TPA that would ensure no trade deals require changes to current immigration law. “With this language, this president – or any future president – will not be able to take yet another good bill and use it as an opportunity to insert his unlawful, unwise and unconstitutional amnesty agenda,” he said. “It also includes safeguards against changes to current law in the areas of climate change, currency and American sovereignty.” Sen. Jeff Sessions of Alabama, however, argues the “same people projecting the benefits of leaping into a colossal new economic union could not even accurately predict the impact of a standalone agreement with South Korea.” The deal with Seoul, he pointed out, promised to boost U.S. exports to South Korea $10 billion. Instead, the increase was less than $1 billion, while South Korea’s imports to the U.S. increased more than $12 billion, nearly doubling the trading deficit. The TPP, he said, “will only further increase our trading deficit: opening our markets to foreign imports while allowing our trading partners to continue their non-tariff barriers that close their markets to ours.” Sen. Sessions said that if the U.S. wants a new trade deal with Japan or Vietnam, it should be negotiated bilaterally and sent to Congress under regular order. “Under no circumstances should the House authorize, through fast-track, the formation of a new international commission that will regulate not only trade, but immigration, labor, environmental, and all manner of commercial policy,” he said. “What American went to the polls in 2014 to vote for fast-track and a new global union?” he asked. “Can anyone honestly say that Congress is trying to ram this deal through because they think their constituents want it?” Read more at http://www.wnd.com/2015/06/senator-warns-of-another-attempt-to-pass-obamatrade/#Js8o4VJYZIgXUe0I.99 __._,_.___ ------------------------------ Posted by: "Beowulf" <[email protected]> ------------------------------ Visit Your Group <https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/grendelreport/info;_ylc=X3oDMTJmNHV2dXNqBF9TAzk3MzU5NzE0BGdycElkAzIwMTk0ODA2BGdycHNwSWQDMTcwNTMyMzY2NwRzZWMDdnRsBHNsawN2Z2hwBHN0aW1lAzE0MzQyMDQwMTg-> [image: Yahoo! 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