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Dear
Friends,
Today,
after
months
of
careful
consideration,
I
have
decided
to
support
granting
President
Obama
Trade
Promotion
Authority,
also
known
as
TPA.
I
have
closely
reviewed
the
TPA
legislation,
read
the
current
draft
of
the
Trans-Pacific
Partnership
(TPP)
agreement
and
met
with
constituents,
environmental
groups,
organized
labor,
business,
and
many
current
and
former
administration
officials. I
also
hosted
several
public
meetings
and
town
halls.
I
heard
strong
arguments
made
by
people
of
good
faith
on
both
sides
of
the
discussion.
TPA
is
a
time-tested
procedure
whereby
the
President
is
empowered
by
Congress
to
negotiate
trade
agreements
that
can
be
submitted
to
congress
for
review
and
an
up
or
down
vote. By
removing
the
possibility
that
Congress
will
retread
a
deal
negotiated
by
the
President,
TPA
elicits
the
best
and
final
offers
from
other
countries.
TPA
is
a
delegation
of
Congressional
authority,
and
I
take
all
such
delegations
very
seriously. However,
this
is
not
a
new
idea.
It
has
been
granted
to
every
president,
with
the
exception
of
Richard
Nixon,
for
the
past
50
years.
The
most
recent
iteration
of
this
authority
expired
in
2007,
and
President
Obama
has
now
requested
that
Congress
grant
a
renewal.
It
would
be
almost
historically
unprecedented
if
we
did
not
extend
that
to
him.
TPA
opens
the
door
to
consideration
of
the
TPP,
a
potential
agreement
between
12
Pacific
rim
countries
representing
40%
of
global
GDP.
The
TPP
offers
the
potential
for
rich
export
opportunities
and
many
more
high-paying
export-oriented
jobs.
It
can
also
require
the
improvement
of
environmental
and
labor
standards
in
countries
where
those
do
not
exist. If
TPP
does
those
things,
I’ll
support
it.
If
not,
I
won’t.
My
review
of
the
negotiating
text
so
far
indicates
that
the
President
and
our
negotiators
have
been
pushing
for
these
improvements.
Approving
TPA
and
giving
President
Obama’s
trade
policy
a
chance
to
work
puts
us
in
the
best
possible
position
to
create
a
TPP
that
benefits
America
as
well
as
our
global
trade
partners.
Make
no
mistake,
Connecticut
is
an
export
economy,
and
growing
global
trade
and
markets
will
help
strengthen
our
middle
class.
In
2013
there
were
$16.4
billion
in
Connecticut
exports.
$11.9
billion,
or
67.5%,
of
that
came
from
the
Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk
metro
area.
To
say
that
trade
is
important
to
our
district
is
an
understatement.
Critics
have
charged
that
TPA
is
a
“secret”
agreement
that
will
be
foisted
on
Congress
at
the
last
minute.
This
is
untrue.
Most
sensitive
negotiations
–
collective
bargaining
by
unions,
or
the
purchase
of
a
home,
for
example
–
happen
behind
closed
doors. In
the
case
of
TPP,
after
the
negotiators
reach
an
agreement,
the
deal
will
be
made
fully
public
online
for
60
days
before
the
President
can
sign
it,
followed
by
several
months
of
review
and
consideration
before
Congress
votes
on
it.
I
believe
in
the
ability
of
the
American
worker
to
outcompete
and
succeed,
and
that
we,
instead
of
China,
should
set
standards
and
establish
values.
In
my
opinion,
it
is
more
likely
that
we’ll
be
able
to
achieve
this
goal
through
engagement
than
by
walking
away.
TPA
allows
the
President
the
opportunity
to
make
this
happen.
Sincerely,
Jim | |
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