TRANS PACIFIC-PARTNERSHIP AND FAST TRACK

This ACTION ITEM deals with two related issues: TheTrans Pacific Partnership (TPP) and Fast Track.

but:
First I want to let you know the office hours during Christmas and the New Year.
. The office will be closed next week (December 23rd-27th) and will be open Dec. 30th, 31st and January 2nd (11 to 1:30 PM)

      I know the holidays are upon us and if you remember this is when certain things have been shoved down our throats. Don't think for a minute they wouldn't do it again. This president and his minions will be ready to pounce thinking Americans are involved in Christmas shopping and not paying attention. We need to prove him wrong. This is a critical issue.
      The Obama Administration is negotiating, in secret, a dangerous global governance agreement called the Trans Pacific Partnership (hereinafter referred to as TPP), and is trying to Fast Track it. Sold under the guise of "free trade", the TPP is an assault on our constitution. It will transfer large swaths of Congress' and state power to international tribunals, all the while "harmonizing" U.S. law with international rules.
      One of the first items being taken up when our representatives return will be Fast Track (now being called Trade Promotion Authority or TPA), a move by the Executive branch to usurp a power given to Congress in the Constitution. Please help us stop this, because it will be used to put in place a (globalism) agreement that will hurt all of us. One Example: a (foreign company) in Florida loses profits because of some rule or regulation in Florida. WE CAN AND WILL BE SUED in foreign tribunals.
    Coalition for a Prosperous America .(CPA) has asked us to help in this national effort to STOP the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) and Fast Track. This "trade" agreement is not about trade. It's about globalism. If you think NAFTA has destroyed jobs in America then I can tell you TPP will be worse.

      Here is a short video to help you understand how bad this will be but please keep in mind it just touches the surface.
      This is 10 minutes but it will help you understand what is at stake with the TPP. PLEASE PLEASE watch it. This could end up being another one of those things “that is passed so we can see what is in it” FRIGHTENING
http://bit.ly/1fESy4p

     Two action items have been taken to show Congress we are not in favor of giving up our sovereignty. And that is exactly what this trade agreement will do, on a local, state and federal level. It is globalism under the guise of trade. Please help us stop it. Here's how.

(There is no action on your part on the first action item as this is a group level activity but I want you to know that it is happening.)

The first action is at the “Group” level” and is a campaign whereby various interested groups will sign on to a communication which will be delivered at the appropriate time to the appropriate parties in Washington. This will clearly demonstrate the "We The People" support at a group level.

MEMBER ACTION:  YOU!!!
Send a clear message to your Congressmen/women.

THE MESSAGE IS SIMPLE!!!
"Vote "NO" on Trans-Pacific Partnership & Fast Track"
We are asking everyone to personally send a note to their Congressman. We are hoping you will forward this "action alert" to your friends several times over the next three weeks and we hope members of Congress will be hearing from individuals in their district, and then the first week of January they will receive the group letter. A one two punch.

This link will take you to a page where once you enter your zip code a formatted letter will appear as well as the names of your Senator's and Representatives. It is a very simple way to get this communication out:

http://bit.ly/1bfd3Q5

Should you wish to contact your Congressmen in another format you can use either of the following links:

Senate main line in DC: 202 224 3121
Senator’s email: http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm

Email: http://www.wrhammons.com/representatives-by-state.htm

For local members I have provided local contact information.
U.S. SENATE
US Sen. Marco Rubio, FAX (202) 228-5171 – Phone (202) 224-3041 or (904) 398-8586
317 Hart Senate Office Building, Washington, DC 20510 or
1650 Prudential Dr., Suite 220, Jacksonville, FL 32207
Complete an email form at http://www.rubio.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/email-senator-rubio?p=...
US Sen. Bill Nelson, FAX (202) 228-2183 – Phone (202) 224-5274 or (904) 346-4500
716 Hart Senate Office Building, Washington, DC 20510 or
1301 Riverplace Blvd., Suite 2010, Jacksonville, FL 32207
Complete an email form at http://www.billnelson.senate.gov/contact/email.cfm

U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
District 3 Rep. Ted Yoho, FAX (202) 225-2256 – Phone (202) 225-5744 or (904) 276-9626
511 Cannon House Office Building, Washington, DC 20515 or
1213 Blanding Blvd, Orange Park, FL 32065
Complete email form at https://yoho.house.gov/contact/email-me

District 4 Rep. Ander Crenshaw, FAX (202) 225-2504 – Phone (202) 225-2501 or (904) 598-0481
440 Cannon House Office Building, Washington, DC 20515 or
1061 Riverside Avenue, Suite 100, Jacksonville FL 32204
Complete email form at https://forms.house.gov/write/crenshaw/email-me.shtml

District 5 Rep. Corrine Brown, FAX (202) 225-2256 – Phone (202) 225-0123 or (904) 954-1652
2111 Rayburn House Office Building, Washington DC 20515 or
101 East Union St., Suite 202, Jacksonville, FL 32202
Complete email form at https://forms.house.gov/corrinebrown/webforms/contact-me.shtml

District 6 Rep. Ron DeSantis, FAX (202) 226-6299 – Phone (202) 225-2706 or (904) 827-1101
427 Cannon House Office Building, Washington, DC 20515 or
3940 Lewis Speedway, Suite 2104, St. Augustine, FL 32084
Complete email form at: https://desantis.house.gov/contact/email-me

     There will be additional action items on this issue right after the first of the year and I will notify you accordingly.
      Please ensure that you make your voices heard on this issue. I will be sending emails daily until I know that this has been stopped!!!

As always, may GOD BLESS YOU AND MAY GOD BLESS OUR AMERICA.
Leanne

The following is simply additional information related to Fast Track. Reading is optional.

Obama’s Dangerous Request for “Fast Track” Trade Authority

The Imperial President Demands that Congress Give Away Its Constitutional Authorities to Him; He Desires to Legislate and
Bind the United States to International Governing Bodies and UN Jurisdiction

According to the U.S. Constitution, Congress writes the laws and sets trade policy. Yet, over the past few decades, presidents increasingly have tried to seize both those powers through a mechanism known as Fast Track. In 1998, the House of Representatives denied President Clinton this extraordinary power with 71 conservative Republicans joining 171 Democrats to safeguard Congress’ constitutional authority.

Now President Obama is seeking this extreme delegation of Congress’ constitutional authority.
Fast Track has recently been renamed “Trade Promotion Authority” in an attempt to sell it to Republican members of Congress who support free trade. In fact, Fast Track has only ever been used 16 times in the history of our nation. Hundreds of trade agreements that expanded U.S. exports were implemented under normal order.

Fast Track has only been used when a president seeks to ram through Congress so-called trade agreements. These agreements include sovereignty undermining non-trade terms that Congress would normally reject. Sadly, Democrats and Republican presidents alike have used the extraordinary procedure to circumvent Congress’ constitutional authorities and bind the United States to agreements that are supposed to about trade. Instead, these agreements create U.S. immigrations policies, pre-empt state law including relating to how state tax dollars may be spent, and submit the United States to the jurisdiction of United Nations tribunals. These tribunals allow foreign corporations to demand U.S. taxpayer compensation for being required to meet the same laws that apply to U.S. firms and individuals.

Fast Track destroys the Constitutional “checks and balances” created by our Founders:

The U.S. Constitution gives Congress exclusive authority to set trade policy and gives the executive branch power to conduct international negotiations. This design is one of many checks and balances in the Constitution to avoid one branch of government from having absolute control over a vital policy area. This constitutional design means the president cannot enter into trade agreements unless Congress gives the authority to do so.

Historical documents from the time of the Constitution’s framing show that granting Congress the authority to regulate foreign commerce was an intentional decision to move away from the European model, which gave control of such matters to the “king.” Instead, the founders desired to put that power in the body “closest to the people,” the Congress. This ensures that power would not be concentrated in a manner to allow foreign policy concerns or the interests of powerful economic sectors to outweigh the national interest in trade agreements. The Founders included this vital check and balance from the bloody experience of our Revolution. The Boston Tea Party was a protest against the king imposing trade policy – tea tariffs on the colonies – to fund his foreign wars. When framing the Constitution, the Founders explicitly granted exclusive authority over trade to Congress to ensure a president could not make unilateral impositions against the national interest.

Fast Track is unconstitutional and dictatorial:

Article I-8 of the U.S. Constitution gives Congress exclusive authority to “regulate commerce with foreign nations.” Article I-5 of the Constitution provides that “[e]ach House may determine the Rules of its Proceedings.” Fast Track gives away to the president control over both matters.

By seeking Fast Track authority, Obama is demanding that all 535 Members of Congress:

• Give away Congress’ ability to choose with which countries the United States will launch international commercial negotiations.

• Give away Congress’ constitutional authority to set the substantive rules for international commercial agreements. Congress listed “negotiating objectives” in Fast Track, but these were not mandatory or enforceable and executive branch negotiators regularly ignored them.

• Empower the executive branch to sign trade pacts before Congress votes on them, locking down a binding, legal text created exclusively by executive branch negotiators who often deny Congress access to the text before it is signed and the agreement entered into.

• Empower the executive branch to write legislation, circumvent normal congressional committee review (no mark ups!) and suspend Senate cloture and other procedures. Under Fast Track, not only is Congress stuck with pre-signed trade agreements, but Congress cannot amend the agreement’s “implementing legislation” – legislation that could force the change of hundreds of existing U.S. laws to conform them to the trade agreement’s terms.

• Guarantee “privileged” House and Senate floor votes within a set time period, regardless of the views of congressional leaders about whether a vote is appropriate. A House vote was required within 60 days after the president submitted executive-branch-authored implementing legislation and the signed agreement – with the Senate having 30 additional days after House action to vote.

• Guarantee extraordinary floor procedures even before negotiations on a deal has started. Fast Track rules forbid all floor amendments in both chambers and permit only 20 hours of debate on a signed deal and hundreds of pages of conforming changes to U.S. law. The agreement becomes U.S. federal law -- and pre-empts the state laws of all 50 states.

The executive branch:

• Gives Congress a 90-day notice of its intent to start negotiations with a country and then another 90-day notice before it signs a completed agreement. Fast Track does not allow Congress to revoke its delegation of authority if the executive branch ignores Congress’ negotiating objectives. The executive branch alone decides when negotiations are “complete.” The no-amendments floor rules and expedited procedures for consideration could only be revoked for failure to comply with the specific notices and certain formal consultations with several congressional committees. Failure to respect Congress’ instructions about agreements’ terms is not ground to remove the extraordinary rights to sign and enter into an agreement before a congressional vote or to write legislation that is not subject to committee review or floor amendments.

Federalism is undermined by Fast Track:

State officials also must conform local laws to hundreds of pages of non-trade domestic policy restrictions. State officials do not even have Congress’ cursory post-facto role in the process. State and local officials are bound to comply with many aspects of these pacts -- such as limits on land use and zoning policy, energy regulation, state procurement and more. Fast Track provides no mechanism by which to obtain the consent of state legislators before federal negotiators permanently bind state and local policy to comply with the terms of the agreements.

Most members of Congress are not aware that historically, Congress has maintained control over its constitutional trade authority:

For Congress to reject Obama’s power grab and maintain its authority is not only reasonable, it restores the balance of powers on trade established in the Constitution. Fast Track is not synonymous with “trade authority.” President Clinton was denied Fast Track authority for six of his eight years in office, but still the Clinton administration listed a hundred trade pacts it completed – each without Fast Track.

Historically, Congress has managed the executive branch negotiators of trade agreements:

Prior to 1934, Congress maintained tight control over every detail of trade negotiations. Executive branch negotiators were allowed to negotiate agreements with foreign sovereigns only on specific tariff and quota rates approved by Congress. With the 1934 Reciprocal Trade Agreements Act, Congress delegated to the executive branch multi-year authority to set tariff and quota levels within a specified range, without requiring further congressional approval, called “tariff proclamation authority.” This procedure was used for the first five rounds of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) negotiations.

Decades later, a dramatic shift in trade agreement authority away from Congress to the executive branch occurred. At issue then was how to deal with the non-tariff trade issues, such as customs classifications, dumping and subsidies, then newly arising in negotiations. The executive branch only had tariff proclamation authority, but in the Kennedy Round of GATT negotiations President Johnson’s negotiators ignored Congress’ constitutional authority and committed to provisions changing U.S. law. This move caused a turf fight between branches regarding how to coordinate negotiations that might require changes to domestic law, the sole jurisdiction of Congress.

In 1973, then-president Nixon claimed that Congress only approving of the tariff aspects of the Kennedy Round had caused the United States international embarrassment and would cause other countries to no longer negotiate with us. Although in fact the next round of GATT talks was launched without any new trade authority delegation in place, Nixon pushed Congress for the new authority. Nixon proposed that Congress allow him simply to proclaim changes to U.S. law required to implement trade pacts. Besides being unconstitutional, this was politically unacceptable to Congress. Fast Track was the “compromise.” It has rarely been granted to presidents since its initial establishment.

I am unable to provide the author of this article as it was not on the document that I received. Much of the information in the first part of this action item was taken from communication provided by "Coalition for a Prosperous America"