Vote no on TPP

Last June, the Republican leadership in Congress, including Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, was able to pass Trade Promotion Authority. The measure gave President Obama unconstitutional authority to regulate commerce with foreign nations, including “fast track” authority to negotiate the Trans-Pacific Partnership.

A Tufts University study says passage of this massive 5,554-page agreement loaded with new regulations would shrink our gross domestic product by $100 billion, and cause the loss of 448,000 American jobs. On Nov. 5, President Obama notified Congress of his intent to sign the 12-nation TPP agreement, which he did on Feb. 4. He must now wait 30 days before submitting TPP legislation to Congress for approval.

Sen. Jeff Sessions, the leading opponent of the TPP, says it creates a powerful European Union-style Commission that can appoint unelected bureaucrats, change the agreement after adoption, add new members and address new issues as they evolve.

Sessions warns that the TPP Commission would have the power to evolve this partnership into a Pacific Union that would destroy the independence of the United States. This happened in Europe, and it can happen here unless we convince McMorris Rodgers and our two senators to vote against the Trans-Pacific Partnership.

Steve Dunham

Spokane