Congressional Democrats have strongly supported President Obama's use of executive authority — but there is one power that many don’t want him to have.
Liberals are waging a vigorous fight against Obama’s push for expanded trade power, fearing it would lead to trade deals that favor corporate interests over American workers.
Democrats and some Republicans are adamant that trade promotion authority (TPA) would give Obama’s trade team too much control over negotiations, and are making their opposition known in a barrage of press conferences on Capitol Hill.
"I have long supported President Obama. I believe he generally wants to improve the lives of working Americans,” said Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn) after Obama asked for help from both parties on trade in his State of the Union address.
"But on the issue of trade, I will oppose the administration because unfortunately they are following the same exact policy that has failed in the past.”
Rep. Louise Slaughter (D-N.Y.) called the president’s acknowledgment that trade deals “haven’t always lived up to the hype” the “understatement of the year.”
Democrats opposed to “fast-track” authority say it is just a way to ram through major trade agreements, such as the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and a deal with the European Union, with little congressional oversight.
Those same Democrats have a litany of complaints about fast-track authority — they say the policy pushes Congress and the public to the sidelines, ships good-paying jobs overseas and enables bad trade agreements that erode wages.
There also is a sense from opponents on both sides of the aisle that lawmakers are ceding their constitutional authority to the White House.
http://thehill.com/policy/finance/230619-the-one-power-democrats-dont-want-obama-to-have
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