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‘Simple Solution’ to ObamaTrade’s Problems -’Why Does a Free-Trade Deal have Billions in Welfare Giveaways?’
Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio
Garth Kant / WND
WASHINGTON – U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, speaks with the conviction and enthusiasm of a man who believes he has found a solution to one of Washington’s thorniest current problems: whether to give President Obama authority to cut a far-ranging trade deal with little congressional control.
And that relatively simple solution is in a time-tested American tradition: If something goes wrong, put it to a vote.
He explained to WND why he believes the solution to the deal’s many questions lies in an amendment being drafted by Reps. Rick Mulvaney, R-S.C., and Mark Meadows, R-N.C.
The amendment would let the entire House, not just the 37 members of the House Ways and Means committee, vote on any changes to the bill that would give the president the fast-track authority to make the trade deal.
Jordan portrayed the amendment as a restoring of the constitutional checks and balances to the trade agreement process, telling WND, “If it (a proposed change) comes to a vote on the full floor, is it really that big of a deal? If something really egregious arises, this gives us a chance to turn it off.”
The Trans-Pacific Partnership, or TPP, a monumental trade deal between the U.S. and Pacific Rim nations, appears to have something to dislike for everyone across the political spectrum.
- Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., is concerned it will turn over important congressional powers to a new international body, create an economic union akin to a “nascent European Union,” and prevent lawmakers from removing any objectionable provisions. He is also alarmed that the deal could be used to accelerate the immigration of foreign workers at a time when Americans are hurting for jobs.
- Unions such as the powerful AFL-CIO are also concerned it will hurt the American job market and depress wages.
- Environmentalists fear the deal will lead to lax protections.
- Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., says the deal will benefit large corporations and banks.
- She and Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., also criticize the secrecy of the details in the deal.
- That puts those ultra-liberals on the same side as die-hard conservative Rush Limbaugh, who said having Congress vote on a bill the American people can’t even read should be enough to oppose it.
- And presidential candidate Mike Huckabee told WND on Monday, “President Obama can’t be trusted to negotiate a deal on a secondhand Subaru, let alone a trillion-dollar trade deal like TPP.”
Jordan has his own problems with the bill, one being what he calls “a several billion dollar social-welfare giveaway program” that would give money to workers who lose their jobs, ostensibly because of free trade.
“If you believe in trade, then you don’t need a social welfare system saying that the jobs are going to be lost. We believe trade creates jobs. If you believe that, why do you have a social welfare giveaway as part of the deal?”
Read more at WND:
http://www.wnd.com/2015/06/simple-solution-to-obamatrades-problems/
