Alabama senator Jeff Sessions, a Republican, has written a letter to President Barack Obama regarding the request that Congress “fast-track” legislation on Trade Promotion Authority. Sessions says he has a number of questions Congress should expect answers to before the body agrees to “yield its institutional powers.” Read the full letter below:
[Reposted from The Weekly Standard | Michael Warren | May 6, 2015]
Dear Mr. President:
You have asked Congress to approve fast-track legislation (Trade Promotion Authority) that would allow international trade and regulatory agreements to be expedited through Congress for the next six years without amendment. Fast-track, which proponents hope to adopt within days, would also ensure that these agreements—none of which have yet been made public—could pass with a simple majority vote, rather than the 67 votes applied to treaties or the 60 votes applied to important legislative matters.
The first international trade and regulatory agreement that would be expedited under “fast-track” is the Trans-Pacific Partnership, or TPP. This is one of the largest international compacts in the history of the United States. Yet, this agreement will be kept a closely-guarded secret until after Congress agrees to yield its institutional powers and provide the Administration with a guaranteed “fast-track” to adoption.
