For the second time in as many days, U.S. Sen. Al Franken just added his name to a marijuana bill.
On Tuesday, the Democratic lawmaker from Minnesota became the fifth cosponsor of legislation to allow cannabis cultivators and sellers operating in accordance with state laws to be taxed just like any other business.
The day before, he signed onto a bill that would allow those businesses to access financial services from banks.
Earlier this month, the former Saturday Night Live star was one of six senators to introduce a broad bipartisan bill that would amend federal laws so states can enact and implement their own medical cannabis laws without federal interference.
The leadership on marijuana issues is a far cry from when Franken said on a BuzzFeed podcast last year (in response to a question I submitted) that he was "not the guy to ask" about cannabis policy.
In his answer then, he did acknowledge that he should probably study up on the issue because the state he represents is one of more than two dozen that allows medical marijuana. "I should know more," the senator said, jokingly adding, "or it's not important or somewhere in between."
A month later, Franken added his name to an earlier, now-expired version of the comprehensive medical marijuana bill that he is an original cosponsor of in the new 115th Congress. But he never did add his name to the 114th Congress's versions of the cannabis taxation and banking legislation.
Now, the senator is on a bit of a marijuana bill cosponsorship spree, and some observers think it's good politics -- in addition to good policy -- at a time when Franken's name is being floated as a possible 2020 presidential candidate.
"With clear public support in favor of outright legalization, presidential aspirants now recognize that marijuana reform is something that can no longer be ignored," Justin Strekal of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) said in an interview.
A Quinnipiac University poll released in April found that 60% of U.S. voters -- and 72% of Democrats -- support legalizing marijuana.
When it comes to medical cannabis, 94% of all voters and 96% of Democrats are on board. Just 13% of Democrats and 21% of voters overall want the federal government to interfere with state marijuana laws.
Other potential Democratic presidential candidates such as fellow Sens. Cory Booker of New Jersey, Kirsten Gillibrand of New York and Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts have increasingly taken on leadership roles in the fight for marijuana law reform.
Franken, who discussed his past marijuana, cocaine and LSD use in a book he published earlier this year, also joined four other senators in writing a July letter asking U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions not to go after state-legal industrial hemp growers.
But Strekal, of NORML, wants Franken to do even more, saying, until he "puts his name on a bill that outright deschedules cannabis from the Controlled Substances Act, I remain uninspired."
In July, Booker filed legislation to do just that, and more. And in the last Congress, Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, a 2016 presidential candidate, filed cannabis descheduling legislation.
Source
Showing posts with label senator elizabeth warren. Show all posts
Showing posts with label senator elizabeth warren. Show all posts
Wednesday, September 20, 2017
Thursday, March 2, 2017
Sessions reassures senators: No pot crackdown imminent
The Trump administration is causing serious paranoia among marijuana advocates with its hints of a federal crackdown on recreational use. But Attorney General Jeff Sessions has privately reassured some Republican senators that he won't deviate from an Obama-era policy of allowing states to implement their own marijuana laws.
Sessions has rattled both libertarians and liberals in ordering a review of the hands-off pot policy under President Barack Obama. But Sessions provided some private assurances to senators before he was confirmed that he was not considering a major shift in enforcement, despite his opposition to the use of marijuana.
“He told me he would have some respect for states' right on these things. And so I’ll be very unhappy if the federal government decides to go into Colorado and Washington and all of these places. And that’s not the [what] my interpretation of my conversation with him was. That this wasn’t his intention," said Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.). in an interview.
And since he was confirmed, Sen. Cory Gardner (R-Colo.) said administration officials have left him with the impression there is no big policy change coming.
"Nothing at this point has changed," Gardner said.
But a large group of bipartisan senators aren't taking any chances. They sent a letter on on Thursday urging Sessions to uphold the Obama-era policy of allowing states to implement their recreational marijuana laws, after the Trump administration has indicated it could crack down on marijuana.
The effort is led by Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), who hail from states that have legalized marijuana. Press secretary Sean Spicer has hinted at "greater enforcement" of federal laws treating marijuana as an illegal drug. Sessions said this week that he is "dubious about marijuana" and is reviewing current policy.
But senators are beginning to push back.
"We respectfully request that you uphold DOJ's existing policy regarding states that have implemented strong and effective regulations for recreational use," the senators wrote to Sessions. "It is critical that states continue to implement these laws."
Eight states and the District of Columbia have legalized marijuana for recreational use. Most of the senators who signed on to the letter hail from those states; Murkowski is the only Republican. The senators who signed the letter in addition to Warren and Murkowski are Democratic Sens. Patty Murray of Washington, Ron Wyden of Oregon, Jeff Merkley of Oregon, Maria Cantwell of Washington, Ed Markey of Massachusetts, Brian Schatz of Hawaii, Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada, Cory Booker of New Jersey and Michael Bennet of Colorado.
"Do they really respect states' rights? Then you should respect all of them, not just pick and choose the ones that you want to support or not. Many states have gone not only the path of Nevada of recreational marijuana but medical marijuana. How can you pick or choose one or another?" Cortez Masto said in an interview.
Cortez Masto's GOP colleage, Sen. Dean Heller, separately disclosed that he discussed his state's marijuana policy with Sessions during the nomination process in a letter to Sessions. Heller also urged Sessions to keep current policy.
"While I maintain that, unlike medical marijuana, I have serious concerns on whether or not the benefits of recreational marijuana outweigh the drawbacks, I recognize and respect the will of Nevadans," Heller wrote on Wednesday.
But a Justice Department spokesman said senators should mellow out. "The department’s current policy is reflected in the 2013 Cole Memo," the DOJ spokesman said, referring to the Obama policy.
The concern, however, isn't just among senators from states that have legalized the drug. It's also an issue for conservatives who are worried about the GOP selectively allowing states' rights to supercede federal law.
"We’re concerned about some of the language that we’re hearing. And I think that conservatives who are for states' rights ought to believe in states' rights. I'm going to continue to advocate that the states should be left alone," Paul said.
Gardner, whose home state was a pioneer in legalizing the drug, was less alarmed by the statements coming from Sessions and Spicer.
“He was talking about if there’s cartels involved in illegal operations, they’re going to crack down on that. That’s what everybody’s saying. I still haven’t heard Jeff Sessions say that" there's a big policy change coming, Gardner said. "We obviously want to make sure we're clear on what they’ve said."
However, Sessions came awfully close earlier this week to suggest sweeping changes are coming, saying that the Obama-era policy is under review.
"I'm definitely not a fan of expanded use of marijuana," Sessions told reporters. "States they can pass the laws they choose. I would just say it does remain a violation of federal law to distribute marijuana throughout any place in the United States, whether a state legalizes it or not."
In an interview, Murkowski said she was not yet alarmed, but was monitoring the Justice Department closely.
"It's probably a little premature to try to predict what may or may not be coming out of the administration on this, so I think we just need to sit back and see," she said.
Source
Not from what I've read. Sessions is making it sound like he is starting up the assault vehicles and ready to put them to use. In fact it sounds like he can't wait to bust down the doors of dispensaries with his DEA goon squad. That SOB is saying one thing to the Senators and another to us. Which is true? Are they going to crackdown or not. I hoping for not. We contact our elected leaders and we sign petitions. Making us nervous is not the way to do things because if we do get nervous we get activist and our activism got a lot of Senators to question Sessions. Now we are all questioning him. Who is the real Jeff Sessions? Is he going to raid the dispensaries? Time will tell. Stay tuned.
Sessions has rattled both libertarians and liberals in ordering a review of the hands-off pot policy under President Barack Obama. But Sessions provided some private assurances to senators before he was confirmed that he was not considering a major shift in enforcement, despite his opposition to the use of marijuana.
“He told me he would have some respect for states' right on these things. And so I’ll be very unhappy if the federal government decides to go into Colorado and Washington and all of these places. And that’s not the [what] my interpretation of my conversation with him was. That this wasn’t his intention," said Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.). in an interview.
And since he was confirmed, Sen. Cory Gardner (R-Colo.) said administration officials have left him with the impression there is no big policy change coming.
"Nothing at this point has changed," Gardner said.
But a large group of bipartisan senators aren't taking any chances. They sent a letter on on Thursday urging Sessions to uphold the Obama-era policy of allowing states to implement their recreational marijuana laws, after the Trump administration has indicated it could crack down on marijuana.
The effort is led by Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), who hail from states that have legalized marijuana. Press secretary Sean Spicer has hinted at "greater enforcement" of federal laws treating marijuana as an illegal drug. Sessions said this week that he is "dubious about marijuana" and is reviewing current policy.
But senators are beginning to push back.
"We respectfully request that you uphold DOJ's existing policy regarding states that have implemented strong and effective regulations for recreational use," the senators wrote to Sessions. "It is critical that states continue to implement these laws."
Eight states and the District of Columbia have legalized marijuana for recreational use. Most of the senators who signed on to the letter hail from those states; Murkowski is the only Republican. The senators who signed the letter in addition to Warren and Murkowski are Democratic Sens. Patty Murray of Washington, Ron Wyden of Oregon, Jeff Merkley of Oregon, Maria Cantwell of Washington, Ed Markey of Massachusetts, Brian Schatz of Hawaii, Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada, Cory Booker of New Jersey and Michael Bennet of Colorado.
"Do they really respect states' rights? Then you should respect all of them, not just pick and choose the ones that you want to support or not. Many states have gone not only the path of Nevada of recreational marijuana but medical marijuana. How can you pick or choose one or another?" Cortez Masto said in an interview.
Cortez Masto's GOP colleage, Sen. Dean Heller, separately disclosed that he discussed his state's marijuana policy with Sessions during the nomination process in a letter to Sessions. Heller also urged Sessions to keep current policy.
"While I maintain that, unlike medical marijuana, I have serious concerns on whether or not the benefits of recreational marijuana outweigh the drawbacks, I recognize and respect the will of Nevadans," Heller wrote on Wednesday.
But a Justice Department spokesman said senators should mellow out. "The department’s current policy is reflected in the 2013 Cole Memo," the DOJ spokesman said, referring to the Obama policy.
The concern, however, isn't just among senators from states that have legalized the drug. It's also an issue for conservatives who are worried about the GOP selectively allowing states' rights to supercede federal law.
"We’re concerned about some of the language that we’re hearing. And I think that conservatives who are for states' rights ought to believe in states' rights. I'm going to continue to advocate that the states should be left alone," Paul said.
Gardner, whose home state was a pioneer in legalizing the drug, was less alarmed by the statements coming from Sessions and Spicer.
“He was talking about if there’s cartels involved in illegal operations, they’re going to crack down on that. That’s what everybody’s saying. I still haven’t heard Jeff Sessions say that" there's a big policy change coming, Gardner said. "We obviously want to make sure we're clear on what they’ve said."
However, Sessions came awfully close earlier this week to suggest sweeping changes are coming, saying that the Obama-era policy is under review.
"I'm definitely not a fan of expanded use of marijuana," Sessions told reporters. "States they can pass the laws they choose. I would just say it does remain a violation of federal law to distribute marijuana throughout any place in the United States, whether a state legalizes it or not."
In an interview, Murkowski said she was not yet alarmed, but was monitoring the Justice Department closely.
"It's probably a little premature to try to predict what may or may not be coming out of the administration on this, so I think we just need to sit back and see," she said.
Source
Not from what I've read. Sessions is making it sound like he is starting up the assault vehicles and ready to put them to use. In fact it sounds like he can't wait to bust down the doors of dispensaries with his DEA goon squad. That SOB is saying one thing to the Senators and another to us. Which is true? Are they going to crackdown or not. I hoping for not. We contact our elected leaders and we sign petitions. Making us nervous is not the way to do things because if we do get nervous we get activist and our activism got a lot of Senators to question Sessions. Now we are all questioning him. Who is the real Jeff Sessions? Is he going to raid the dispensaries? Time will tell. Stay tuned.
Senators urge Sessions not to crack down on marijuana
With the Trump administration suddenly sending what appear to be mixed signals on marijuana, a group of senators — mostly Democrats — are urging the new White House not to crack down on legal weed.
In a letter delivered to Attorney General Jeff Sessions on Thursday, Sens. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, asked the Department of Justice to uphold the Obama administration’s policy allowing individual states to determine their own pot laws.
“We respectfully request that you uphold DOJ’s existing policy regarding states that have implemented strong and effective regulations for recreational marijuana use,” the senators wrote in the letter. “It is critical that states continue to implement these laws.”
The letter was cosigned by Sens. Cory Booker, D-N.J.; Patty Murray, D-Wash.; Maria Cantwell, D-Wash.; Ron Wyden, D-Ore.; Jeff Merkley, D-Ore.; Ed Markey, D-Mass.; Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii; Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev.; and Michael Bennet, D-Colo. — all Democrats and most from states where marijuana is legal.
It comes less than a week after White House press secretary Sean Spicer suggested that the administration may press for “greater enforcement” of federal pot laws.
“There’s a big difference between [medical marijuana] and recreational marijuana, and I think when you see something like the opioid addiction crisis blossoming in so many states around this country, the last thing we should be doing is encouraging people,” Spicer said Thursday. “There is still a federal law that we need to abide by in terms of recreational marijuana and other drugs of that nature.”
Spicer referred a reporter who asked about increased enforcement around recreational marijuana to the Department of Justice. But he added, “I do believe that you’ll see greater enforcement of it.”
The statement sent a shock wave through the United States’ budding marijuana industry, which some analysts estimate could grow into a $24.5 billion business by 2025.
Under President Barack Obama, the Department of Justice left the enforcement of federal marijuana laws up to the states, allowing places like Colorado, Washington and Oregon to experiment with cannabis regulation. In an interview with the New Yorker published in early 2014, Obama famously said that he viewed marijuana as “a bad habit and a vice” but no more dangerous than alcohol.
“As has been well documented, I smoked pot as a kid, and I view it as a bad habit and a vice, not very different from the cigarettes that I smoked as a young person up through a big chunk of my adult life,” Obama said. “I don’t think it is more dangerous than alcohol.”
According to a recent Quinnipiac poll, 71 percent of Americans said they would oppose a federal crackdown on legal marijuana.
Before he was confirmed as attorney general, Sessions had told some members of the Senate that he would respect state laws and not change federal policy.
But earlier this week, Sessions told reporters that the Obama-era pot policy is under review.
“I’m definitely not a fan of expanded use of marijuana,” Sessions said, according to Politico. “States, they can pass the laws they choose. I would just say it does remain a violation of federal law to distribute marijuana throughout any place in the United States, whether a state legalizes it or not.”
Some lawmakers aren’t waiting around to find out whether a cannabis crackdown is coming.
Last week, a bipartisan bill was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives (“Ending Federal Marijuana Prohibition Act of 2017”) that would take marijuana off the federal controlled substances list — putting pot on par with alcohol and tobacco.
And in California, a bill introduced in the state Assembly would prevent state and local law enforcement agencies from using their resources to help federal authorities crack down on marijuana.
Source
Letter to Jeff Sessions requesting he back off raiding dispensaries
In a letter delivered to Attorney General Jeff Sessions on Thursday, Sens. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, asked the Department of Justice to uphold the Obama administration’s policy allowing individual states to determine their own pot laws.
“We respectfully request that you uphold DOJ’s existing policy regarding states that have implemented strong and effective regulations for recreational marijuana use,” the senators wrote in the letter. “It is critical that states continue to implement these laws.”
The letter was cosigned by Sens. Cory Booker, D-N.J.; Patty Murray, D-Wash.; Maria Cantwell, D-Wash.; Ron Wyden, D-Ore.; Jeff Merkley, D-Ore.; Ed Markey, D-Mass.; Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii; Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev.; and Michael Bennet, D-Colo. — all Democrats and most from states where marijuana is legal.
It comes less than a week after White House press secretary Sean Spicer suggested that the administration may press for “greater enforcement” of federal pot laws.
“There’s a big difference between [medical marijuana] and recreational marijuana, and I think when you see something like the opioid addiction crisis blossoming in so many states around this country, the last thing we should be doing is encouraging people,” Spicer said Thursday. “There is still a federal law that we need to abide by in terms of recreational marijuana and other drugs of that nature.”
Spicer referred a reporter who asked about increased enforcement around recreational marijuana to the Department of Justice. But he added, “I do believe that you’ll see greater enforcement of it.”
The statement sent a shock wave through the United States’ budding marijuana industry, which some analysts estimate could grow into a $24.5 billion business by 2025.
Under President Barack Obama, the Department of Justice left the enforcement of federal marijuana laws up to the states, allowing places like Colorado, Washington and Oregon to experiment with cannabis regulation. In an interview with the New Yorker published in early 2014, Obama famously said that he viewed marijuana as “a bad habit and a vice” but no more dangerous than alcohol.
“As has been well documented, I smoked pot as a kid, and I view it as a bad habit and a vice, not very different from the cigarettes that I smoked as a young person up through a big chunk of my adult life,” Obama said. “I don’t think it is more dangerous than alcohol.”
According to a recent Quinnipiac poll, 71 percent of Americans said they would oppose a federal crackdown on legal marijuana.
Before he was confirmed as attorney general, Sessions had told some members of the Senate that he would respect state laws and not change federal policy.
But earlier this week, Sessions told reporters that the Obama-era pot policy is under review.
“I’m definitely not a fan of expanded use of marijuana,” Sessions said, according to Politico. “States, they can pass the laws they choose. I would just say it does remain a violation of federal law to distribute marijuana throughout any place in the United States, whether a state legalizes it or not.”
Some lawmakers aren’t waiting around to find out whether a cannabis crackdown is coming.
Last week, a bipartisan bill was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives (“Ending Federal Marijuana Prohibition Act of 2017”) that would take marijuana off the federal controlled substances list — putting pot on par with alcohol and tobacco.
And in California, a bill introduced in the state Assembly would prevent state and local law enforcement agencies from using their resources to help federal authorities crack down on marijuana.
Source
Letter to Jeff Sessions requesting he back off raiding dispensaries
Wednesday, October 26, 2016
Don't let the Federal government bailout insurance companies
From Freedom Works:
Health insurance companies are running from ObamaCare as fast as they can. And the more that do, only hastens ObamaCare’s eminent demise. But the Democrats are trying to keep them on board long enough to transform ObamaCare into a European-styled single payer system. That’s why they’re fighting tooth and nail to keep bribing these insurance companies with taxpayer funded bailouts. Don’t let them get away with it. Contact these Senate Republicans right now. Tell them to end the ObamaCare bailouts today.
Marco Rubio’s already introduced S. 123, a bill to stop these bailouts permanently. But liberal hacks like Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren are preventing it from receiving a vote. And until it’s passed, these insurance companies will continue to receive more of your money. Don’t let that happen. Contact these Senate Republicans right now. Tell them to stop the ObamaCare bailouts today.
Health insurance companies are running from ObamaCare as fast as they can. And the more that do, only hastens ObamaCare’s eminent demise. But the Democrats are trying to keep them on board long enough to transform ObamaCare into a European-styled single payer system. That’s why they’re fighting tooth and nail to keep bribing these insurance companies with taxpayer funded bailouts. Don’t let them get away with it. Contact these Senate Republicans right now. Tell them to end the ObamaCare bailouts today.
Marco Rubio’s already introduced S. 123, a bill to stop these bailouts permanently. But liberal hacks like Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren are preventing it from receiving a vote. And until it’s passed, these insurance companies will continue to receive more of your money. Don’t let that happen. Contact these Senate Republicans right now. Tell them to stop the ObamaCare bailouts today.
Sunday, May 10, 2015
Join Senators Warren,Brown and Sanders in pressuring Obama to post the full TPP text online for the public to see
From CREDO:
Our campaign to pressure President Obama's administration to immediately make all secret trade agreements such as the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) has gotten a massive boost.
President Obama recently lashed out at activists and our elected representatives who have called for transparency around secret negotiations, calling us “dishonest.”
In response Senators Elizabeth Warren and Sherrod Brown have added their voices to Senator Bernie Sanders’ call for the Obama administration to immediately release the full text of the TPP.
To read more and sign the petition
Our campaign to pressure President Obama's administration to immediately make all secret trade agreements such as the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) has gotten a massive boost.
President Obama recently lashed out at activists and our elected representatives who have called for transparency around secret negotiations, calling us “dishonest.”
In response Senators Elizabeth Warren and Sherrod Brown have added their voices to Senator Bernie Sanders’ call for the Obama administration to immediately release the full text of the TPP.
To read more and sign the petition
Wednesday, April 29, 2015
Tell the Obama administration to practice transparency when it comes to TPP by posting it online for the general public
From Credo:
Our campaign to pressure President Obama's administration to immediately make all secret trade agreements such as the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) just got a massive boost.
President Obama is lashing out at activists and our elected representatives who have called for transparency around secret negotiations, calling us “dishonest.”
In response Senators Elizabeth Warren and Sherrod Brown added their voices to Senator Bernie Sanders’ call for the Obama administration to immediately release the full text of the TPP. In a letter to the president, Senators Warren and Brown wrote:
The American people should be allowed to weigh in on the facts of the TPP before Members of Congress are asked to voluntarily reduce our ability to amend, shape, or block any trade deal. The press and the public should be allowed to examine the details that corporate executives and lobbyists have already been allowed to influence for years. Members of Congress should be able to discuss the agreement with our constituents and to participate in a robust public debate instead of being muzzled by classification rules. Before Congress votes to facilitate the adoption of the TPP, the American public should be allowed to see for themselves whether it's good deal for them.1
Stand with Senators Elizabeth Warren, Sherrod Brown and Bernie Sanders: Add your name and tell President Obama to immediately release the full text of the TPP before Congress votes on Fast Track. Click here to sign the petition.
Senators Warren and Brown sent the letter in response to the president's recent attacks on progressive activists fighting to stop Congress from rubber-stamping a Fast Track bill for the biggest trade deal in our history. President Obama has even gone so far as to compare our objections to the deal being negotiated with corporations and foreign governments to Sarah Palin’s invocating of “death panels” during the health care debate.
The Warren-Brown letter specifically points out that President Obama's "trade transparency record is worse than that of former President George W. Bush," noting that even Bush "published the full negotiation texts of a major free trade deal with Latin America several months before Congress had to vote on giving the deal fast track benefits."2
This letter gives our ongoing campaign to rally around Senator Bernie Sanders’ call for transparency on all pending trade deals a huge lift. We need to do our part by pushing even harder for transparency now.
Add your name and tell President Obama to immediately release the full text of the TPP before Congress votes on Fast Track. Click here to sign the petition.
It would be outrageous for the Obama administration to allow the Republican leadership and their corporate allies within the Democratic party to ram through Fast Track Trade Promotion Authority without allowing all members of Congress, their staff, and the American public to read what is in trade agreements such as the TPP. And as Senators Warren and Brown point out, it would be worse than George W. Bush!
In fact, the reason why the corporate lobby is pushing hard for Fast Track is that they know the TPP could not get through Congress without this extraordinary power grab.
This secret "trade" deal would eviscerate broad swaths of regulations that protect consumers, workers, the environment and the soundness of our financial system. And it would set up a legal regime where corporate profits trump the policy priorities of sovereign governments.
It’s ironic that the president claims critics of the TPP "don’t know what they’re talking about" when it’s his administration that is refusing to release the text of his secret trade agreement to the public – only providing extremely limited access to members of Congress. The Obama administration should immediately release the TPP text to the public, and Congress, so we can have a spirited and informed public debate on the largest trade deal in our history.
Stand with Senators Elizabeth Warren, Sherrod Brown, and Bernie Sanders: Add your name and tell President Obama to immediately release the full text of the TPP before Congress votes on Fast Track. Click the link below to sign the petition.
To sign petition
Thank you for your activism.
Murshed Zaheed, Deputy Political Director
CREDO Action from Working Assets
Our campaign to pressure President Obama's administration to immediately make all secret trade agreements such as the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) just got a massive boost.
President Obama is lashing out at activists and our elected representatives who have called for transparency around secret negotiations, calling us “dishonest.”
In response Senators Elizabeth Warren and Sherrod Brown added their voices to Senator Bernie Sanders’ call for the Obama administration to immediately release the full text of the TPP. In a letter to the president, Senators Warren and Brown wrote:
The American people should be allowed to weigh in on the facts of the TPP before Members of Congress are asked to voluntarily reduce our ability to amend, shape, or block any trade deal. The press and the public should be allowed to examine the details that corporate executives and lobbyists have already been allowed to influence for years. Members of Congress should be able to discuss the agreement with our constituents and to participate in a robust public debate instead of being muzzled by classification rules. Before Congress votes to facilitate the adoption of the TPP, the American public should be allowed to see for themselves whether it's good deal for them.1
Stand with Senators Elizabeth Warren, Sherrod Brown and Bernie Sanders: Add your name and tell President Obama to immediately release the full text of the TPP before Congress votes on Fast Track. Click here to sign the petition.
Senators Warren and Brown sent the letter in response to the president's recent attacks on progressive activists fighting to stop Congress from rubber-stamping a Fast Track bill for the biggest trade deal in our history. President Obama has even gone so far as to compare our objections to the deal being negotiated with corporations and foreign governments to Sarah Palin’s invocating of “death panels” during the health care debate.
The Warren-Brown letter specifically points out that President Obama's "trade transparency record is worse than that of former President George W. Bush," noting that even Bush "published the full negotiation texts of a major free trade deal with Latin America several months before Congress had to vote on giving the deal fast track benefits."2
This letter gives our ongoing campaign to rally around Senator Bernie Sanders’ call for transparency on all pending trade deals a huge lift. We need to do our part by pushing even harder for transparency now.
Add your name and tell President Obama to immediately release the full text of the TPP before Congress votes on Fast Track. Click here to sign the petition.
It would be outrageous for the Obama administration to allow the Republican leadership and their corporate allies within the Democratic party to ram through Fast Track Trade Promotion Authority without allowing all members of Congress, their staff, and the American public to read what is in trade agreements such as the TPP. And as Senators Warren and Brown point out, it would be worse than George W. Bush!
In fact, the reason why the corporate lobby is pushing hard for Fast Track is that they know the TPP could not get through Congress without this extraordinary power grab.
This secret "trade" deal would eviscerate broad swaths of regulations that protect consumers, workers, the environment and the soundness of our financial system. And it would set up a legal regime where corporate profits trump the policy priorities of sovereign governments.
It’s ironic that the president claims critics of the TPP "don’t know what they’re talking about" when it’s his administration that is refusing to release the text of his secret trade agreement to the public – only providing extremely limited access to members of Congress. The Obama administration should immediately release the TPP text to the public, and Congress, so we can have a spirited and informed public debate on the largest trade deal in our history.
Stand with Senators Elizabeth Warren, Sherrod Brown, and Bernie Sanders: Add your name and tell President Obama to immediately release the full text of the TPP before Congress votes on Fast Track. Click the link below to sign the petition.
To sign petition
Thank you for your activism.
Murshed Zaheed, Deputy Political Director
CREDO Action from Working Assets
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