The White House is calling January “TPA (Trade Promotion Authority) Month” and has made it their task of the month to pass Fast Track authority on the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). President Obama needs Fast Track, and when Congress returned in 2014 a bill was introduced after delays of more than a year.

The lies begin with the title of the bill: “The Bipartisan Congressional Trade Priorities Act of 2014.” Bi-partisan? In the House there was only one sponsor, Republican David Camp (MI). The Republicans demanded the Democrats add a sponsor before it was introduced, but they could not find one.

The only Democrat on the bill in the Senate is Max Baucus – the senator who gave the country Bush tax cuts for the wealthy and who is leaving the senate to become the Ambassador to China. So, that is only bi-partisan until he gets his new job.

Baucus likes to informally call the bill “The Job Creating Bipartisan Trade Priorities Act,” but that just adds another lie since trade agreements consistently lose jobs, expand the wealth divide and increase trade deficits.

TPP Loses Momentum

The once seemingly invincible largest trade bill in history, covering 40% of the world’s economy, now after four years of secret negotiations with more than 600 corporate advisers looks very much like it can be defeated.

Why is the TPP looking like it can be stopped? One reason is its secrecy, or lack thereof: leaks are popping in the TPP like the Titanic on its way to the bottom of the ocean.

Ron Kirk, the former U.S. Trade Representative, said the Trans-Pacific Partnership was being kept secret because the more people knew about it, the less they would like it – and the greater the chance that it would never become law.

Each leak has proven him right. The most recent: the Environmental Chapter.

The bottom line is that there is no enforcement in this trade agreement to protect the environment. The TPP is in fact worse than President George W. Bush’s trade deals, which is why environmental groups are unequivocally calling it unacceptable.

Same goes for the leak of the Intellectual Property Chapter: when it leaked people saw gifts to corporations and blatant efforts to turn everything into a commodity for profit. The refrain is the same: profits come first. Necessities of people and protection of the planet only get trickled down upon.

Backlash in Congress to Fast Track

Constant delays in Fast Track have resulted in the bill being introduced in the beginning of an election year. Election years are a terrible time to pass anything controversial. The bottom line: the Trans-Pacific Partnership is becoming politically toxic.

Over the last year there has been a steady stream of emails and phone calls to Congress. They have faced constituent meetings and protests where the TPP has consistently been raised. Americans have told Congress: they better not be associated with the TPP in an election year.

When Fast Track was introduced there was a backlash, with public reports of angry Democrats. Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) told the Huffington Post: “I’m a little disappointed that something’s dropped that was never discussed with Democrats in the House. As I understand it, it wasn’t actually discussed with Democrats in the Senate.”

Five members of the Senate Finance Committee told U.S. Trade Representative Mike Froman they will not support the Baucus Fast Track bill. Congress needs to be involved throughout the process, not just in an up or down vote after it is completed.

While Baucus held a hearing on Thursday, protesters were there expressing their displeasure. Baucus says he will not be holding a mark-up of the bill because of the divisions on the Finance Committee. Sen Ron Wyden (D-OR) who will be taking Baucus’s place when he becomes the Ambassador to China, told Politico there was “broad frustration” with the lack of transparency. And Majority Leader Reid said that he may not even bring the bill to the Senate Floor if it passes out of committee.

As bad as the Senate situation sounds for the administration, the House is even worse. Opposition has been building in recent months with Democrats and Republicans writing President Obama opposing Fast Track. They could not find a Democratic co-sponsor and now Politico reports that Speaker Boehner says he will not bring the bill to the floor for a vote unless 50 Democrats support it.

State of the Union: Last Stand for Fast Track of TPP?

The president’s TPA month is off to a bad start, so he has to make a big pitch in his upcoming State of the Union on January 28. (If he doesn’t, it is a sign he has given up and is distancing himself from defeat.) He’s not only going to have to persuade almost every Republican to support him – which would be a first for his presidency – but he’s also going to have to convince every Democrat who has not taken a position, and change the minds of many who have already publicly said they oppose Fast Track.

The problem is, members of Congress know that if they get on the wrong side of corporate trade agreements it will hurt them politically. The public is angry about this job-killing trade deal; even Minority Leader Pelosi has had her events interrupted by TPP protesters. The social movement against corporate trade is coming across loud and clear, leading top House Democrats to describe it as “dead on arrival” if it does not protect labor and the environment.

The views of many in Congress were summarized in a statement by Democratic Reps. George Miller (CA), Louise Slaughter (NY) and Rosa DeLauro (CT): “Our constituents did not send us to Washington to ship their jobs overseas, and Congress will not be a rubber stamp for another flawed trade deal that will hang the middle class out to dry.”

Members of Congress have seen the research that shows 90% of Americans will see their income go down from the TPP while the wealthiest get wealthier. Why would any member of Congress want to sign on to something like that – especially in an election year?

Congress should oppose Fast Track because it is an Obama power grab. Under the Baucus-Camp bill, Congress will have 90 days to review the agreement. The House will have 60 days and the Senate will have an additional 30 days. The count begins when the White House decides the negotiations have been completed.

Under the Baucus-Camp Fast Track, the president is also able to draft extensive implementing legislation to bring U.S. law into compliance with the agreement. It is up to the president to decide what changes in laws or new laws are needed to comply with the TPP.

Congress is not able to mark-up or amend the language of these bills. And these can be very significant laws. For example, provisions like “Buy American” or “Buy Local” can be repealed as a restraint on trade. In all of these cases, under Fast Track, the president becomes the Congress and drafts legislation, totally destroying the checks and balances of the three branches of government.

As some anti-TPP activists in Los Angeles showed in a great street theater action at the offices of Rep. Xavier Becerra (D-CA), Fast Track makes Congress unnecessary. They had the TPP movers come to Becerra's office and outsource him. It is important for activists to know what is in Fast Track because the U.S. Trade Representative has been doing its best to mislead the public.

Time to Finish the Job, Make Fast Track for the TPP Politically Toxic

The movement against the TPP has come a long way in the last year, from challenging a trade agreement that no one knew about, and which looked like it could not be stopped, to a trade agreement widely known about in activist circles and beyond.

The reason we have come this far is because the TPP effects so many aspects of people's lives – food, the environment, workplaces, the Internet, banking and finance, job availability, energy, and the list goes on. As people learn about the TPP and what it does, they oppose it. While lame ducks like Obama and Baucus who do not have to seek re-election can ignore angry constituents and follow the demands of big money, those seeking re-election do not have that luxury.

Our task: We need to continue to build opposition and show elected officials they do not want to be associated with these toxic trade agreements. They need to understand that fast-tracking the TPP could end their career.

A lot is already planned to stay informed. “Like” the Flush The TPP Facebook page and follow the twitter feed where we will be regularly publishing new shareable memes to continue to build the Stop the TPP movement. If more TPP leaks come out, we’ll provide immediate analysis. If there are hearings, we will organize protests to make sure the voices of opposition are heard, and will share that information.

Every Tuesday there is a TPP twitter storm at 9pm EST. Follow the hashtag #TPPMediaMarch to participate. There will be a special TPP storm during the State of the Union on January28.

Scores of organizations have come together in a movement of movements to create a webpage StopFastTrack.org. We’ve planned ten key days of pressure on Congress from January 22 to January 31. During this period, people will be making phone calls to Congress through the website, which will provide people the tools and numbers they need to call their representatives.

In addition, during this period people will be organizing for the State of the Union and an Inter-Continental Day of Action on January 31. For the State of the Union, people opposed to the TPP plan to stand vigil outside of the Congress beginning at 8:30 so they can be there when the president arrives for the speech, which begins at 9pm. During the speech, a special State Of The Union TwitterStorm will be held from 9-10pm EST. Follow #TPPMediaMarch to participate.

On January 31, for the Inter-Continental Day of Action against the TPP & Corporate Globalization, the theme is "No More NAFTA’s" as this month is the 20-year anniversary of the North American Free Trade Agreement that had devastating consequences for working families, small farmers, indigenous peoples, small business and the environment in all three countries and beyond.

The pending Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) has been described as “NAFTA on Steroids.” We have come an incredible distance and the likelihood now of stopping the TPP is stronger than it ever has been. We need to finish the job. The president and transnational corporations will make an aggressive push to pass Fast Track this month.

It is our job to stop them and make it impossible ever again to bring up Fast Track or the TPP. We can accomplish this and when we do it will be a tremendous victory of people over transnational corporate power – a victory on which we can build more successes.

Kevin Zeese and Margaret Flowers are co-organizers of Popular Resistance. Flush the TPP is a campaign of Popular Resistance.

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