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Showing Original Post only (View all)Pres. Obama tells Dems, on TTP: "Get informed, not by reading the Huffington Post" [View all]
...but, details the actual text of this 'corporate Trojan horse' have been mostly negotiated in secret, from Congress - although hundreds of corporate representatives have been reported having access to the details, like Halliburton.
PHILADELPHIA President Obama on Thursday asked wary House Democrats to hold their fire, while the administration negotiates several trade deals opposed by scores of liberal lawmakers.
Keep your powder a little dry, he told the Democrats assembled here for an annual retreat, according to a source in the closed-door session.
"Get informed," Obama also advised, "not by reading The Huffington Post.
"The impact on the paychecks of Americas workers is the standard that we will use," Rep. Pelosi told reporters Wednesday.
Fielding private questions from the Democrats after a fiery speech before the caucus Thursday, Obama tried to defuse those concerns, saying his administration will make a "substantive case" for the new pacts.
"We share same values and are looking out for the same people," he said, according to the source.
read more: http://thehill.com/homenews/house/231238-obama-tells-dems-to-keep-their-powder-dry-in-trade-fight
related:
Sen. Sanders in a Jan 5, 2015 letter (pdf) to U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman.
"I am very concerned that, to this date, the text of this agreement has not been made public. The only text I'm aware of, so far, that has been made public has been through leaked documents, and I find what I read to be very troubling.
It is incomprehensible to me that the leaders of major corporate interests who stand to gain enormous financial benefits from this agreement are actively involved in the writing of the TPP while, at the same time, the elected officials of this country, representing the American people, have little or no knowledge as to what is in it,
Members of Congress must have the opportunity to read what is in the TPP and closely analyze the potential impact this free trade agreement would have on the American people long before the Senate votes to give the President fast track trade promotion authority.
Please explain why you think it's appropriate that the representatives of the largest financial institutions, pharmaceutical companies; oil companies; media conglomerates; and other major corporate interests not only have access to some of these documents, but also are playing a major role in developing many of the key provisions in it. Meanwhile, the people who will suffer the consequences of this treaty have been shut out of this process..."
read entire letter: http://www.sanders.senate.gov/download/letter-to-united-states-trade-representative?inline=file