Washington DC is in
heavy flux right now over a fast-track international trade bill, otherwise
known as Trade Promotion Authority (TPA),
which President Obama and even leading Republicans, both conservative and
liberal, have promoted.
Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker has added his support for
trade promotion authority, which would permit the President to negotiate trade
deals with other countries, then present the final contract before the Senate
based on an up-or-down vote.
 |
| Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker (TheConservativeTreehouse.com) |
There are two major problems with this proposal, enough that
interests throughout the country, left and right, big and small, business and
labor, oppose this deal.
Transparency is gone. We the People have no knowledge of the
deal’s intricacies. Congressman Paul
Ryan (R-WI) began parroting House minority leader Nancy Pelosi: “We have
to pass it so that you can see what’s in it.”
That legislative rationale is immoral, offensive, and wrong.
No one signs a contract before reading the fine print. Federal representatives
should abide by the same standard. No President should have neither initial nor
final authority on the specific terms or the general elements of any treaty.
The greater shame, however, rests in Congressional leaders’
insouciance about surrendering more of its power to executive action. George
Washington had to wait for days before the US Senate ratified a treaty with an
allied foreign power. This fast-track agreement could open up commercial and
military entanglements with suspect or even rogue states.
Governor Walker is wrong about TPA. As a potential
presidential contender, he should respect Congressional legislative supremacy.
No comments:
Post a Comment