GOP chairmen: Immigration legislation not in trade bill

GOP chairmen: Immigration legislation not in trade bill

Susan Davis, USA TODAY6:15 p.m. EDT April 30, 2015

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(Photo: J. Scott Applewhite, AP)

WASHINGTON — Top House Republicans offered public assurances Thursday that an upcoming "fast track" trade authority bill will not be a vehicle for immigration legislation — a fear stoked mainly in online conservative forums in recent weeks.

"Absolutely not. It's the latest urban legend," House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Paul Ryan, R-Wis., told reporters Thursday at a forum hosted by The Christian Science Monitor.

"It is absolutely false. There is no way we would sign off on putting immigration legislation or immigration reform in (trade promotion authority) or the trade agreement. We are unified in that as Republicans."

Congress is working on renewing "fast track" trade negotiating authority that would give the president enhanced authority to finalize negotiations on the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a pending 12-nation pact with Asia-Pacific countries.

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USA TODAY
Senate panel approves 'fast track' trade bill



A number of conservative commentators have contended that the Obama administration can use fast track authority — which only allows Congress an up-or-down vote on a negotiated trade pact — to include immigration-related provisions that will make it easier for foreign workers to come to the U.S.

The concerns prompted House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., to circulate a letter Thursday to House colleagues batting down the idea.

"No one has been more vocal than me in their criticism of the Obama Administration's attempt to unconstitutionally rewrite our immigration laws through the grant of administrative legalization to millions of unlawful aliens," he wrote. "There is nothing in the current draft of the TPP that will in any way advance or facilitate this or any other unconstitutional action by the administration."

The Senate is expected to take up the fast track bill in May.

The House will follow shortly after. Ryan said he was "reasonably optimistic" that Congress could approve the bill with Democratic support.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/p...ryan/26656885/

My question to Republicans in Congress is how does the TPP or any trade agreement signed since 1913 serve the national interest of the United States or benefit the citizens, workers and taxpayers of our country? A simple list will do.

ByREENA FLORES CBS NEWS May 2, 2015, 3:43 PM

GOP tries to quell immigration fears over trade bill

Amid conservative dread that ongoing trade negotiations would lead to more executive power over immigration policies, the Republican Party is pushing to clarify just what a "fast-track" trade promotion authority (TPA) bill would mean for the everyman.

• Obama, GOP tag-team over trade deals
• Top lawmakers reach agreement to fast-track trade deals

"It is about creating more jobs for the American people and helping hardworking American families," Georgia Sen. Johnny Isakson said Saturday in a video address pushing for the fast-track legislation. "Raising the prosperity of the American people is the best way to raise revenue while also raising hope and opportunity. This trade promotion authority legislation does precisely that."

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GOP pushes "fast-track" trade bill


The TPA bill -- the Bipartisan Congressional Trade Priorities and Accountability Act of 2015 -- will soon be up for a vote in the Senate. It would give Congress the ability to set objectives for any international deals the White House negotiates. The "fast track" legislation would also allow Congress a yes-or-no vote on any future trade deal, though it would prevent the deliberative body from proposing any amendments.

President Obama, for his part, has been actively advocating for the "fast-track" trade legislation. TPA will come to a vote ahead of the White House's final negotiations of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade deal, involving the United States and 11 other Pacific Rim countries, now years in the making.

The president's backing of the bill has made it enough of a contentious issue that several conservatives are questioning if TPA would significantly expand executive powers.

• The Democrats' internal battle over free-trade

"Trade promotion authority does not give any president any new authority to expand immigration or change other laws," Isakson said, "without the approval of the Congress of the United States."

"Every trade agreement will still be scrutinized by your representatives and by the senators in Congress," the George Republican reiterated in his address. "Republicans will not support any attempt to override U.S. law by sneaking extra provisions into any trade agreement -- that includes provisions on immigration policies."

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Obama: New Pacific trade deal will "drive a race to the top"


But others in the Democratic Party -- as well as newly announced presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont -- vehemently oppose the legislation. Because the bill would only allow Congress an up-or-down vote on international deals -- instead of granting it power to change the terms of the deals -- critics say it limits the deliberative body's power to fight on behalf of American workers.

Isakson appealed to voters in his home state of Georgia, where he sites that over one million jobs are "directly related" to international trade. The Republican senator added that the state's exports to overseas trading partners grew by 69 percent over the last decade.

"This is going to ensure that America -- not China or any other country -- is at the forefront of writing the global rules of economy and trade in the world," he said.

In his own address, the president focused on the White House's education initiatives and previewed his upcoming commencement address at a school in South Dakota.

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Obama: Education is "the ticket to a better life"


"In a global economy, we've got to help ensure that everyone, of every age, in every zip code - urban and rural - has the chance to learn the skills that lead directly to a good job," Mr. Obama said Saturday in a video.

The president touted new programs in his ConnectED initiative, which emphasizes digital connectivity and learning for schools across America. One of these programs, a partnership between libraries and major publishers to provide free ebooks for low-income students, was announced earlier this week while the president visited a Washington, D.C., library.

He also championed his plan to make two years of community college free for every American student.

"A great education is the ticket to a better life," Mr. Obama said. "Making sure all our kids receive one is the surest way to show them that their lives matter."

"Because no matter who you are, where you live, or how much money you've got, you should be able to access the world's knowledge and information just like anyone else."

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GOP: KNOCK IT OFF, STOP LYING TO THE AMERICAN PEOPLE ABOUT FREE TRADE TREASON, STOP SHIPPING OUR JOBS AND FACTORIES OVERSEAS UNDER THE GUISE OF MORE JOBS FROM MORE TRADEE WHEN IT'S NOT MORE TRADE OR MORE JOBS FOR THE AMERICAN PEOPLE.

You know folks, here's the GREAT IRONY of the United States. Our two party system is comprised of a Democratic Party that wants to flood our nation with immigrants and illegal aliens and a Republican Party that wants to ship all our good jobs and industries overseas. Guess what? This is the Perfect Storm for a bankrupt nation.

PEOPLE IN (Immigration) + JOBS OUT (Free trade treason) = BANKRUPT NATION

When Paul Ryan talks about more trade, he's talking about more trade over there, not here. He's talking about our companies moving more of their operations from here to there to serve those markets from there and back-haul their products and services into the United States. When he claims he's concerned about labor and environmental practices and all of that, it has nothing to do with our products produced here, that's all about our companies operations over there so they can move their facilities there and when their sweat shops are exposed, they aren't as bad as they are or would be without these free trade treason agreements.

These agreements have absolutely NOTHING to do with creating jobs or business opportunities in the United States, it's all about setting the stage for our companies to create jobs and expand their businesses over there. That is the whole purpose of free trade agreements, and the outcomes are proven consistently without any deviation from this universal law of globalization for the past 21 years since NAFTA was concocted by George Herbert Walker Bush, the Great Grandpa of the Grand Sell-Out of the American People.

And yes, I say that with deep regret because I'm a Republican from a family of Republicans who have been Republicans since there were Republicans. Republicans have always been protectionists, not isolationists, but protectionists, people who in general have no problem with international trade and in general approve it across the board, but only on the level where it benefits our nation or at least causes no harm.

That is not what free trade is for the United States, free trade is a misnomer for selling out the interests of the American citizen, the American worker, and the American taxpayer, by using government agreements to pave the road for the export of American jobs, investment and technology. That's why since this all started, our trade balances have declined from nice surpluses which means we were exporting more than we were importing, the ideal situation, to the complete opposite, where we are importing almost $800 billion a year more than we are exporting, which is sucking the money supply of the US economy dry as a bone which is why the Federal Reserve keeps printing money, impoverishing our people which is why unemployment and poverty rise, and bankrupting our nation which is why we have an $18 trillion and growing national debt.