Republican presidential contender Mike Huckabee on Wednesday lauded Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) for his push to block Congress from giving President Obama so-called “fast-track” authority on trade deals, which many conservatives warn would mean ceding too much authority to the ever-expanding executive branch.
Fast-track authority, also known as Trade Promotion Authority (TPA), would allow the President to negotiate trade agreements with other countries that could not be amended by Congress. The legislative branch would, however, be able to approve or disapprove such agreements by a simple majority vote, instead of the usual two-thirds vote needed for international treaties.
“I applaud the hard work by Senator Jeff Sessions and other conservatives who are standing strong against President Obama and fighting for American workers,” said Huckabee. “The TPA trade deal is a blank check, Trojan horse for President Obama, and Republicans in Congress need to open up their eyes. I have absolutely no idea why some in Congress are willing to trust President Obama. Haven’t we learned our lesson?
“The Obama administration has fooled, failed, and deceived the American people for far too long, and Republicans needs to wake-up to this classic game of bait-and-switch before it’s too late,” he continued. “Senator Sessions is calling Obama’s bluff and Republicans need to take his advice. From ObamaCare and immigration to Iranian negotiations, new gun mandates, and runaway government czars, President Obama simply cannot be trusted to protect America’s workers.”
The Trans-Pacific Partnership, a multi-national trade deal for which the President is seeking fast-track authority, is so secretive that lawmakers have only been allowed to view it in a locked room of the United States Capitol.
After reviewing the documents, Sessions said the deal transfers power out of the hands of America and into the hands of foreign governments and other international entities who will not be inclined to act in America’s best interest.
“It creates an international commission,” Sessions said on the nationally-syndicated Mark Levin Show Wednesday. “It has all the earmarks of how the European Union got started. The Sultan of Brunei gets the same vote as the President of the United States. And they could pass a lot of things which could bind Americans in all kinds of different ways. And, fundamentally, we don’t have any control over them. We can’t vote out the Sultan of Brunei. So this is a diminishment of the individual citizens’ power. It is a transfer to this President, and to an international organization that we have no reason to believe will serve our interests.”
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— Cliff Sims (@Cliff_Sims) June 9, 2015
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