Obama tells House Dems to 'get informed' on the TPP, but he's the one restricting access to the text

[Panich52]

DailyKos

However, more importantly, the Huffington Post has done a far better job of reporting on the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), including publishing leaked text, than Obama has of sharing information with Congress.

David Sirota wrote about this secrecy last week in the International Business Times

Yet the actual text of the agreement remains under lock and key. That represents a significant break from the Bush administration, which in 2001 published the text of a proposed multinational trade agreement with Latin American nations.

“It is incomprehensible to me that leaders of major corporate interests who stand to gain enormous financial benefits from this agreement are actively involved in the writing of the TPP, while at the same time, the elected officials of this country, representing the American people, have little or no knowledge of what’s in it,”
wrote U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., in a letter to Froman earlier this month.

Sanders’ office confirmed to International Business Times that congressional lawmakers are permitted to view the text of the agreement only in the Trade Representative’s office, without their own staff members or experts present. They are not allowed to take copies of the agreement back to Capitol Hill for deeper, independent evaluation.
(snip)

For a good take-down of the faulty arguments for the TPP put forth by both the president and the Chamber of Commerce, check out Campaign for America's Future's Dave Johnson's piece on the Huffington Post yesterday. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dave-johnson/lets-take-apart-the-corpo_b_6575180.html

More from DailyKos:

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/01/30/1361160/-Obama-Tells-House-Dems-to-Get-Informed-on-the-TPP-But-He-s-the-One-Restricting-Access-to-the-Text?detail=email

[rock]

1. Just like when the boss says, "Think outside the box!"

Remember he's the one who built the box!

[Elwood P Dowd]

2. The USTR is in bed with the Tom Donohue band of crooks, liars, and thieves.

It that doesn't turn your switch on, then nothing will.

[Fred Sanders]

3. Has Sanders physically gone over to the Trade Department to view the full text? Is he willing to do this?

Has anyone in Congress who are allowed to do so?

[Aerows]

11. He probably has

But he can't take notes, can't take staff that are educated in the fine points of trade and corporate law, and Bernie probably doesn't have an eidetic memory.

I didn't realize that a photographic memory was a requirement to be a member of Congress, and that you had to operate without consulting with specialists that are outside of your field of expertise.

That is not a constraint, that just pretty much ensures that nobody other than the "TPP Club" which includes the CEO's of major corporations that can put their fingertips on it in an instance, with every person they wish to have review it, knows the language, riders, additional agreements and legislature.

But oh boy, you had better vote for this law you can't have anybody read.

[Fred Sanders]

12. I was just asking. There is horrible access terms, but there is full access. Maybe he can take notes, but

surely he can go and take a few hours to review portions at a time, notes or no notes. Or negotiate the terms of access.

All trade treaties or any treaty is negotiated in secret, revealing on going negotiations in detail would be counter productive to negotiations. Any negotiation, ever.

And all of Congress has the same access, so get together and break down the work.

[Aerows]

14. He can't take notes.

He can't have experts aid in evaluating it.

That isn't speculation. That is a bald fact.

And no, as a matter of fact, good trade treaties are negotiated with good faith between parties with experts allowed to review the terms.

Please don't pee on the leg of the American people and try to convince them that it is just raining.

[Fred Sanders]

15. Ditto.

[msongs]

18. or the self-proclaimedmoderate republican could just publish the thing for the people to read nt

[99th_Monkey]

4. This Corporate-driven railroading & secrecy makes a mockery of our "Constitutional Democracy"

Oh, you have a really bad idea that most people in their right minds will hate?

NO PROBLEM. Just do everything behind closed doors, in secret, with secret
documents written by faceless corporate shills, THEN simply "Fast-Track" it
through Congress w. help of Democratic POTUS.

[truedelphi]

5. There you go again with that Republican Meme!

Like life would be better under John McCain, so shut up and start packing for Croatia!

[h2][font color=red] <Sarcasm alert!>
[/h2][/font color=red]

[Faryn Balyncd]

17. You've nailed the formula.

" Just do everything behind closed doors, in secret, with secret
documents written by faceless corporate shills, THEN simply "Fast-Track" it
through Congress w. help of Democratic POTUS."


(The secrecy about the corporate give-aways being rationalized, of course, by statements about "national security", and with supporters making comments like "nuclear arms", "Iran", "Putin", and "That's the way international issues are always handled.&quot

[liberal_at_heart]

6. Obama promised to be a transparent President. Too bad he didn't mean it.

[Flying Squirrel]

20. He's pretty transparent to me

And many others who see right through him.

[Enthusiast]

7. Kicked and recommended a whole bunch!

[Faryn Balyncd]

8. It is an ABUSE of "national security" to BUNDLE patent extension into a bill with RESTRICTED access

.... to members of Congress (not allowing them to take notes, bring their staff, expert advisers, etc), RESTRICTED debate (due to limited access, prohibition of Congressional amendment).

To peddle a bill that is a mixture of massive corporate goodies (patent expansion which will negatively impact the availability of generic medications & the price of pharmaceuticals in general, copyright expansion which will threaten the existence of the internet, sovereign investor-state tribunals in which corporations may destroy environmental & labor law with no appeal to the judicial system) as a "trade bill" is bad enough, but to hide it behind a "national security" wall of secrecy is dishonest, undemocratic, and an outrage.

[Aerows]

13. It's so far beyond

transparency, that Superman couldn't see through it.

I regard anyone that champions this as an enemy of Democracy, because if a sitting Senator can't take staff that are specialized in specific points of trade and law and can't even take notes *themselves*, that is asking them to legislate and vote in the dark.

That's not even close to Democracy.

[FairWinds]

9. Shame on Obama

Obama telling House Dems to 'get informed' on the TPP is just about the most duplicitous and disrespectful thing that Obama has said during his presidency.
I really hope he gets called on it, but I'm not holding my breath.

[msongs]

19. "get informed" = get f----ed nt

[Ichingcarpenter]

10. Kick nom n/t

[George II]

16. SENATOR Sanders "confirmed" what HOUSE Democrats were told?

Curious.