House Rejects Trade Bill, Rebuffing Obama’s Dramatic Appeal

[Cebu_4_2]

House Rejects Trade Bill, Rebuffing Obama’s Dramatic Appeal By JONATHAN WEISMAN (http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/w/jonathan_weisman/index.html)JUNE 12, 2015

Photo http://static01.nyt.com/images/2015/06/13/us/13trade-web02/13trade-web02-master675.jpg

Demonstrators along the president's motorcade route in Washington on Friday protested the trade bill. Credit Stephen Crowley/The New York Times

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WASHINGTON — House Democrats rebuffed a dramatic personal appeal from President Obama on Friday, torpedoing his ambitious push to expand his trade negotiating power — and, quite likely, his chance to secure a legacy-defining trade accord spanning the Pacific Ocean.


In a remarkable rejection of a president they have resolutely backed, House Democrats voted to kill assistance to workers displaced by global trade, a program their party created and has stood by for four decades. By doing so, they brought down legislation granting the president trade promotion authority — the power to negotiate trade deals that cannot be amended or filibustered by Congress — before it could even come to a final vote.


“We want a better deal for America’s workers,” said Representative Nancy Pelosi of California, the House minority leader who has guided the president’s agenda for two terms and was personally lobbied by Mr. Obama until the last minute.
Continue reading the main story (http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/13/us/politics/obamas-trade-bills-face-tough-battle-against-house-democrats.html?_r=0#story-continues-2) Related Coverage

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The Trans-Pacific Partnership Trade Deal ExplainedMAY 11, 2015 (http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/12/business/unpacking-the-trans-pacific-partnership-trade-deal.html)
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Obama’s Trade Deal Faces Bipartisan Peril in the HouseMAY 31, 2015 (http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/01/business/obamas-push-for-trade-deal-faces-bipartisan-peril-in-house.html)


Republican leaders tried to muster support from their own party for trade adjustment assistance, a program they have long derided as an ineffective waste of money and sop to organized labor. But not enough Republicans were willing to save the program.
Photo http://static01.nyt.com/images/2015/06/13/us/13trade-web/13trade-web-articleLarge.jpg

President Obama and the House Democratic leader, Nancy Pelosi, left a meeting with House Democrats on Capitol Hill where Mr. Obama pushed for support for his trade agenda. Credit Stephen Crowley/The New York Times Republican leaders then passed a stand-alone trade promotion bill, 219 to 211. That measure cannot go to the president for his signature because the Senate bill combined both trade adjustment and trade promotion.
Republican leaders now have two legislative days, beginning Monday night, to bring back the trade adjustment legislation for another vote.
Continue reading the main story (http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/13/us/politics/obamas-trade-bills-face-tough-battle-against-house-democrats.html?_r=0#story-continues-3) Trans-Pacific Partnership Countries http://graphics8.nytimes.com/newsgraphics/2015/05/21/tpp-map/e70679e02ce03b7d072af9ad0cc22b48eb3b61ac/Trans-Pacific-Partnership-MAP-1050.png Canada

$658

United States

Japan

$201

Mexico

Vietnam $36

$534

Brunei $0.6

Malaysia $44

Singapore
$47

Peru
$16

Australia
$37

Chile
$26

Total goods traded with the United States in 2014

New Zealand
$8

Imports plus exports, not including services, in billions of dollars





Census Bureau

By The New York Times


Continue reading the main story (http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/13/us/politics/obamas-trade-bills-face-tough-battle-against-house-democrats.html?_r=0#story-continues-3)

[Cebu_4_2]

Better article: http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/president-obama-is-all-in-on-trade-sees-it-as-a-cornerstone-of-his-legacy/2015/06/12/32b6dce8-1073-11e5-a0dc-2b6f404ff5cf_story.html

[Serpo]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KnyPsKw_gak

[Cebu_4_2]

Rick Perry Comes Out in Favor of Obama Trade Deal


http://media.breitbart.com/media/2015/01/rick-perry-iowa-freedom-summit-ap-640x480.jpg
AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall (http://www.apimages.com/metadata/Index/APTOPIX-GOP-2016-Iowa/3e1b585476fb4dd5b64297d060c0da3e/1/0)

by Alex Swoyer (http://www.breitbart.com/author/alex-swoyer/)7 May 2015Washington, DC172 (http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2015/05/07/rick-perry-comes-out-in-favor-of-obama-trade-deal/#disqus_thread)

Former Texas Gov. Rick Perry came out in favor of President Barack Obama’s secret trade deal on Thursday, joining just three of his fellow Republicans in the 2016 hunt—most of the rest are either deathly silent or adamantly opposed—

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, and Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL). “Through Gov. Perry’s leadership, Texas has been the largest exporting state in the country for the past 13 years in a row,” Perry spokesman Travis Considine said in emailed statement. “Gov. Perry has always supported free trade and its positive impact on economic growth and job creation. He believes America can achieve robust economic growth and job creation, similar to what has occurred in Texas, with trade agreements like the Trans Pacific Partnership.”

In response, Americans for Limited Government president Rick Manning—one of the biggest public opponents of the deal—told Breitbart News that Perry’s support for Obama on this is “unfortunate.”

“It’s unfortunate that Gov. Perry is relying on President Obama to present a good free trade deal,” Manning said. “The TPP is less of a trade deal and more of a regulatory one designed to help friends of Obama increase their market share. I would hope that Gov. Perry would read Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL)’ critical alert so he can be informed about what’s in the Trans Pacific Partnership.” There is widespread bipartisan concern with the deal, as many Democrats join several Republicans in expressing either opposition or worry with it. One of the most vocal has been Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL), who as Manning said issued a “critical alert” earlier this week raising serious concerns with several parts of the deal. On the Democrat side, Sen. Liz Warren (D-MA) and several other populist Democrats have been wreaking havoc on the deal’s chances as well—leaving Obama deal supporters like Senate Majority Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and House Speaker Rep. John Boehner (R-OH)
40

worried about whether they’ll have the votes to pass it next week. The Senate is expected to take up the deal early next week, and the House would follow, if the Senate does end up passing it. Opposition to the deal in the House is expected to be stronger than in the Senate, so if it does make it through that first hurdle, the deal’s chances are not much better when it gets to the House.

As Breitbart News has reported, polling over the past decade plus shows that Americans are widely opposed across party lines to trade deals like this one—so Republican leaders, with the help of pollster Frank Luntz, literally cooked up a way to use phony poll-tested talking points to try to sell Americans the lousy package with nice-sounding words.

Perry, Cruz, Rubio, and Bush are the only members of the 2016 GOP presidential field who support the deal, and several other Republican candidates for president—or likely candidates—have come out against it. Those against it include Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee—who won the Iowa caucuses in 2008’s GOP primary—real estate magnate Donald Trump and former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina. Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker hasn’t said anything either way yet, nor have Sens. Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Dr. Ben Carson, or New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie.

[Serpo]

TPP is a great trade deal even though no one has read it..............trust us , we are the gubberment

[Cebu_4_2]

TPP is a great trade deal even though no one has read it..............trust us , we are the gubberment

House passes Obama's 'fast-track' authority to negotiate trade deal

Published time: June 12, 2015 17:58
Edited time: June 12, 2015 18:36 Get short URL (http://rt.com/usa/266863-tpp-pass-house-obama/)

http://cdn.rt.com/files/news/41/26/f0/00/obama-2.si.jpg U.S. President Barack Obama (Reuters / Kevin Lamarque)

President Barack Obama has succeeded in obtaining controversial “fast-track” approval for his Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade deal in the House of Representatives.

The Trade Promotion Authority (TPA), as the “fast-track” powers are officially called, passed by a vote of 219-211, giving President Obama an unlikely victory. In a preceding vote, the House struck down a proposal to extend the Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) program, providing assistance to workers who would lose jobs as a consequence of trade deals.

With both the Senate and the House adopting “fast-track” authorization, Congress will only be able to vote on the finalized agreement, without the opportunity to offer amendments.

Many Democrats defied the President’s request to approve the TAA, contributing to the measure’s defeat with a 302-126 vote. After the TPA was approved, a motion was made to re-consider that vote, opening the possibility the House may approve TAA next week.

Read morehttp://cdn.rt.com/files/news/41/0a/10/00/wikileaks-tpp-healthcare-annex.n.jpg
'Profits over public health': Secret TPP Healthcare Annex published by WikiLeaks (http://rt.com/usa/266401-wikileaks-tpp-healthcare-annex/)

First established in the 1970s, the TAA expires at the end of the current fiscal year. The proposed legislation, rejected today in the House, would extend the program through 2020 and expand the benefits to public and service sector workers. Only manufacturing sector workers, fisherman, and farmers are currently eligible for the program.

President Obama made the rare appearance on Capitol Hill earlier on Friday, holding hour-long talks with lawmakers and trying to persuade House Democrats into backing the bill. Obama has had a hard time persuading his party to support the deal, as the Democrats’ traditional voter base of unions and labor organizations came out strongly against it. Republicans, on the other hand, threw their support behind the TPP.

Read morehttp://cdn.rt.com/files/news/40/19/90/00/18.n.jpg
Corporations shell out $1.2mn in Senate contributions to fast-track TPP (http://rt.com/usa/262553-corporations-millions-senate-campaigns/)

The bill aims to implement the Trans-Pacific Partnership – a trade deal that would link 40 percent of the world's economy. Along with the United States, 11 other countries have taken part in TPP negotiations: Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, and Vietnam.

The most notable issue about the TPP is that excludes China, and serves to counter its growing economic and diplomatic influence in the Asia-Pacific region.

While supporters of the TPP say it will open up new markets for American products, opponents have raised concerns over a number of issues, including currency manipulation, environmental protections, internet privacy, and transparency. Additionally, they say it will harm Americans workers, while any benefits it may produce will go to corporations.

The deal has also been criticized for lack of transparency, as the contents of the TPP has been kept in strict secrecy. Rumors that corporate lobbyists have been drafting the substance of the deal have been given a boost by recent leaked revelations that corporations would be allowed to sue governments in private courts over profits lost due to regulation.

Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) proposed an amendment that would have struck down this arrangement, known as the Investor-State Dispute Settlement system (ISDS). Liberal Democrats have blasted the ISDS as a means corporations could use to undermine US laws.

The White House has argued that some degree of secrecy was necessary for negotiating a good deal, and that critics ought to point to specific issues in the TPP, as opposed to criticizing previous free trade pacts.
However, one former Obama campaign adviser who had clearance to access TPP drafts, wrote that disclosing anything from the documents would be a criminal offense.

“The government has created a perfect Catch 22: The law prohibits us from talking about the specifics of what we’ve seen, allowing the president to criticize us for not being specific,” Michael Wessel wrote in Politico. “Instead of simply admitting that he disagrees with me—and with many other cleared advisors—about the merits of the TPP, the president instead pretends that our specific, pointed criticisms don’t exist.”

[Cebu_4_2]

http://gold-silver.us/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=7621&stc=1

[Ares]

House passes Obama's 'fast-track' authority to negotiate trade deal

That's not a correct statement. That was a procedure vote to see if it would pass. Obama does not have Fast Track authority. Not yet anyway. Our sell out whores in Congress will give it to him so we can get raped for generations by corporations.




Reuters:

A raging battle over President Barack Obama's request for "fast-track" authority central to improving U.S. ties with Asia resumes in the House of Representatives next week when lawmakers are expected to try to reverse Friday's defeat of linchpin trade legislation.

House Democrats disregarded Obama's personal pleas and teamed up with Republicans, for different reasons, to overwhelmingly defeat a program that helps American workers who lose their jobs as a result of trade deals.

Supporters were heartened, however, when the House narrowly approved a separate measure to give Obama "fast-track" authority to negotiate the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade deal. But the legislation is stuck in the House because of the defeat Obama and House Speaker John Boehner suffered on the first vote.

Both measures are included in one bill and both need to be approved before the legislation can clear the House.

A House Republican aide told reporters Republican leaders hope to stage a vote again Tuesday to pass the worker aid portion of the bill. That would allow the entire bill to be signed into law by Obama, but its chances were unclear.

Obama, who made a last-ditch personal appeal to congressional Democrats to support the worker aid program, urged lawmakers to get behind the twin initiatives.

"New trade agreements should go hand in hand with support to American workers who’ve been harmed by trade in the past," he said in a statement, noting the program helps about 100,000 workers per year.

Republican Steve Scalise, a member of the House leadership team, said the president had to work with recalcitrant Democrats to get the numbers for the program.

"They took a hostage that they might realize now they can't afford to shoot," he said.

The worker aid program, which expires in September, drew heavy opposition from both parties, with 158 Republicans joining 144 Democrats in voting "no." The overall vote was 302-126 against.

Trading partners such as Japan have urged the U.S. Congress to pass fast-track to help wrap up a Pacific Rim trade deal covering 40 percent of the world's economy.

PERSONAL PLEA FALLS FLAT

Hours before lawmakers were due to vote on the legislation, Obama arrived at Capitol Hill with Labor Secretary Thomas Perez for the culmination of a short but intense blitz to counter union efforts to use the worker support program to kill fast-track.

The AFL-CIO, the country's largest labor organization, claimed that funding for the worker aid program would be insufficient.

But it also rallied support for its cause by arguing that a vote against worker aid would be the perfect tactic for stopping fast track.

Fast-track authority would let lawmakers set negotiating objectives for trade deals, but restrict them to only a yes-or-no vote on the finished agreement.

Many Democrats worry that giving Obama fast-track authority to finish the TPP would result in job losses in their home districts just as the United States makes economic gains that have led to a brightening jobs picture nationally.

Boehner, the top Republican, in consultation with House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi - who voted against the worker program - is expected to weigh next steps.

A House Republican leadership aide said that leading up to Tuesday, when another vote could occur, Obama had to speak to Pelosi and House Democrats to get them on board.

“They have the weekend” to build support for the worker aid program and allow the whole bill to be signed into law, said the aide, who also left open the possibility of searching for additional Republican votes.

But a House Democratic aide said it was unlikely that anything would transpire between Friday and Tuesday to get Pelosi’s vote, or the votes of many more Democrats.

Meanwhile, Pelosi sent a letter to fellow Democrats saying that prospects for passing a fast-track trade bill “will greatly increase” if Congress were to pass a “robust” bill authorizing highway construction projects, which expire at the end of July.

Those road, bridge and mass transit projects are chock full of good-paying union jobs repairing crumbling infrastructure.

Pelosi also demanded stronger protections in the trade legislation for workers and the environment, which are not easy to craft in the few days leading to Tuesday’s vote.

The Senate, in a strong bipartisan vote, has already approved the package of trade measures, which includes a customs enforcement bill.

That piece of the puzzle passed the House too, but with provisions which upset many Democrats, for example on giving countries deemed soft on human trafficking a way to still participate in fast-tracked trade deals.

Differences will have to be ironed out in a joint meeting of House and Senate negotiators.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/06/12/us-usa-trade-idUSKBN0OS0CC20150612

[Shami-Amourae]

Democrats are probably afraid of TPP since the next selected President will probably be a Republican.

[Cebu_4_2]

Democrats are probably afraid of TPP since the next selected President will probably be a Republican.

Any way you read it, it's fucked for the USi.

[gunDriller]

No Generic Drugs for You !


that it didn't pass = a little bit of good news.