Rep. Kaptur Introduces Bipartisan Trade Transparency Legislation

Press Release

Today Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur (D-OH) introduced the Trade Review Accountability Needs Sunlight and Preview of Any Regulations and Exact Negotiated Components Trade TRANSPAREN-C) Resolution, bipartisan legislation that requires any proposed trade deal to be made publicly available for a minimum of 60 days before it can qualify for a vote that would implement Trade Promotion Authority (TPA), sometimes called "Fast-Track."

"TPA is meant to be an agreement between two equal partners, Congress and the Executive," said Rep. Kaptur. "Unfortunately it has been abused in recent years. Today it has become more of a blank check for the Executive and turned Congress into little more than a rubber stamp. It has gotten so bad that deals like the Trans-Pacific Partnership are essentially finished before Congress even has a chance to weigh in. This legislation calls for an end to this dangerous and irresponsible approach and replaces it with sunlight in the form of public access and accountability."

"We can all agree that these trade agreements will have a significant economic impact," added Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-CA), an original co-sponsor of the legislation. "Given that fact, before Congress takes a vote on TPA, or any other trade measure, the American people deserve to see what these agreements contain. And that is what this resolution ensures."

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