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Call Your Representative to Oppose Administration Ruse to Keep TAA/Fast Track Alive

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Lori Wallach of Public Citizen sent this alert by e-mail last night:

Tomorrow at 12:30, debate will start with a vote expected at 1:30 on the rules for the Intelligence bill. Stuck into that rules is an extension of the Motion to Reconsider. The extension runs through July 30 – meaning that the TAA revote could be called anytime between now and then under this rule. Voting down this rule is the goal. Most Dems would vote against the rule anyway. Can the eight who voted for the rule last Thursday be persuaded to do so? Will the Freedom Caucus remain in revolt and sustain their no votes from Thursday’s rule?

This move shows that the Fast Track package remains in serious trouble. This maneuver shows that the votes are not there to do a successful revote on TAA as the White House and GOP leadership planned.

The bill being used as a Trojan horse for this provision is H.R. 2596 – Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2016.

Please call your Representative this morning! Here is the roll call on TAA and on the Fast Track vote. Please tailor your message to how they voted (thanks if they voted against both and a reminder you expect them to do the same again, clear disapproval if they voted for Fast Track and/or the TAA). If you need to reprimand your Congresscritter, give a short reason or two why you opposed these deal, and make clear that a vote for either bill will cost them your vote. Enlist as many people as you can to make calls.

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20 comments

    1. Kokuanani

      Upon further reading, I see it’s the RULE [for future reconsideration of the bill] that’s coming up today, not the bill itself.

      So yup, call away, and admonish them for attempting dirty parliamentary tricks!

  2. Tom Hammett

    Dear Representative Kathy Castor:

    I want to thank you for your NO votes on the Trade Assistance Adjustment (TAA) and the Trade Promotion Authority (TPA/Fast Track).

    I have just read that the House Republican leaders are creating a ruse to extend the “Motion to Reconsider” for the revote on TAA to July 30. My understanding is that today at 12:30 PM debate will start with a vote expected at 1:30 on the rules for H.R. 2596 – Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2016. Within these rules is the extension of the Motion to Reconsider the TAA vote.

    Please do what you can to stop this House Republican leadership deception.

    Respectfully,

    Tom Hammett

    Lets see if this will work.

  3. katenka

    Thank you so much for this — I made the call (about my ten billionth call on the TAA/TPA/Tetc. so far! — but my rep being Quigley, whose behavior has been decidedly suboptimal, he needs to keep hearing from me).

  5. Joe Firestone (LetsGetitDone)

    I’ve made my call to Beyer earlier this morning. Expect them to attach TPA to an appropriations bill down the line with some sweeteners. This will be a long fight for the rest of the year, unless the trading partners for the deals get discouraged and bail us out. Then we may be looking at years before the trade deals are resurrected. Of course, to get this done for now, we need to beat them this summer.

    1. Joe Firestone (LetsGetitDone)

      The rule to delay passed. But it was pretty much a party line vote with few Reps from each party crossing over.

      The rule allows re-vote on the TPA at any time up to July 30, with very little warning to Representatives. So, a constant watch will have to be kept from now until then to prevent passage of this in the dead of night, as it were.

      1. jrs

        Anytime. We can hope it’s the full end of July but who knows. We’re like a person who was going to die today, whom it turns out they are expected to live one more year. What will we do with it? Only we have maybe a month and a half if lucky.

        I think the best use of that time will be to educate as many people about the TPP etc. as possible. If this thing passes let it be over a full understanding of the citizens of what was done to them, and that their government doesn’t represent them. But, but, it still has power … I know that, but let it be power that noone agrees with. And the big corporations behind this likewise, let noone want to buy from them, even if they may have no choice.

  8. thead

    I called my congressman’s office, and let him know that I was appreciative of his NO votes on both TAA and Fast Track, and that he continue to vote NO on these bills.

    2. Brooklin Bridge

      I did the same and also pointed out H.R. 2596 along with the hidden ground hog day ruse. Curiously, the person answering was very interested as though she hadn’t heard about it. She got me to repeat the bill number twice and then thanked me for the warning. Good grief, I can’t believe Nicki Tsongas wasn’t aware of it.

  9. Brooklin Bridge

    So it passed. Does this mean they can vote on it once anytime between now and July 30th or that they can vote on it as many times as it takes for them to get it right in their minds?

  10. Brooklin Bridge

    Also, if the vote is delayed until late July, doesn’t that effectively squelch it as far as Obama is concerned? I thought it had to pass quickly for Obama to complete his “negotiations”. Also, doesn’t this give additional time to make the public aware of this horror?

    1. jrs

      Yea that’s what we need to use it for: additional time to make the public aware. Granted the gift of time, however short.

      Cynically I think they’ll pass it Friday before July 4th, but end of July would mean they’d all be on recess afterward so that would also work.

  11. jrs

    Maybe we should call our Senators again in case they use the Senate strategy (getting it through the Senate without the TAA). I have no idea how likely that is.

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