Democratic presidential frontrunner Hillary Clinton signaled opposition to holding a lame-duck vote on the Trans-Pacific Partnership in a candidate questionnaire released today by an anti-TPP activist group.
[Daily News| May 6, 2016 |Inside US Trade]
“I have said I oppose the TPP agreement – and that means before and after the election,” Clinton said in response to a question on whether she would oppose holding a vote during a lame-duck session if she is elected in November.
Sen. Bernie Sanders (D-VT), her rival for the nomination and a long-time TPP opponent, also said he would oppose a lame-duck vote and blasted the fast-track procedure under which TPP would be considered.
“Holding a vote on the TPP during a ‘lame duck’ session would be going against the will of the people,” Sanders said in his response. “Fast track has already relinquished Congress’s constitutional authority to the President to ‘regulate commerce with foreign nations,’ limited our debate and prevented members of Congress from improving trade agreements to benefit the American people. Congress must have a say in these matters, and that say should not take place during a ‘lame duck’ session. The job of Congress must be to represent their constituents’ interests. Holding a vote during a “lame duck” session would be in direct conflict with that.”
