Coalition Urges Congress to Pass Trade Promotion Authority

Trade is an extremely important issue right now as the U.S. economy continues to struggle as millions of Americans still find themselves jobless and our deficit and debt continue to grow. This is one area where the White House and President Obama have a unique opportunity to come together to approve and ratify trade agreements that benefit working Americans and taxpayers, while at the same time preserving the interest of the country both here and abroad. Last week, bipartisan and bicameral deal was reached on legislation known as Trade Promotion Authority (TPA). The bill was hammered out by Senators Orin Hatch (R-Utah) and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), along with Congressman Paul Ryan (R-Wisc.). TPA would ensure that the executive could finalize negotiations on trade agreements, while making sure Congress retained control including oversight on any deal reached. Today, more than twenty organizations joined in a coalition effort supporting the legislation and sent a letter to Congress urging approval of TPA.

Read the letter below:

April 21, 2015

Dear Speaker Boehner and Leader McConnell:

On behalf of the free market, taxpayer advocacy, and limited government grassroots and public policy organizations listed below, we urge you to pass Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) as soon as possible.

TPA is a necessary step to get Congress moving on a long-stalled trade agenda.  Without it, there is little hope that this Congress will make any progress on advancing free trade, a conservative public policy goal which all our organizations support.

TPA gives the executive branch the authority needed to finalize trade agreements, while Congress retains a robust amount of control, oversight, and transparency; ultimately Congress has an up-or-down vote on every specific trade agreement.

By definition, the term of this TPA will extend beyond the current administration and into the next one—the goal here is to advance America’s free trade agenda this century, and not to be mired in the stalled trade failures of the recent past.

We believe that tariffs are taxes on trade, and ultimately would like to see a world free of government interference in international commerce.  Passing TPA is a necessary step toward getting the ball rolling on that long term policy goal, and we therefore urge you to pass Trade Promotion Authority.

Sincerely,

Amy Noone Frederick  
60 Plus Association  

Phil Kerpen
American Commitment

Dan Schneider 
American Conservative Union 

Stephen DeMaura  
Americans for Job Security 

Grover Norquist 
Americans for Tax Reform 

Jeffrey L. Mazzella  
Center for Individual Freedom 

Chip Faulkner 
Citizens for Limited Taxation 

Iain Murray 
Competitive Enterprise Institute

April Ponnuru 
Conservative Reform Network 

Thomas A. Schatz 
Council for Citizens Against Government Waste 

Steven J. Duffield
Crossroads GPS 

Katie McAuliffe
Digital Liberty 

Brian Baker 
Ending Spending 

George Landrith
Frontiers of Freedom 

Louie Hunter 
Georgia Center Right Coalition 

Andrew Langer  
Institute for Liberty 

Brian McClung  
Minnesota Center-Right Coalition

Brandon Arnold  
National Taxpayers Union

Lorenzo Montanari
Property Rights Alliance

Lori Sanders  
R Street 

Paul Gessing 
Rio Grande Foundation

David Williams  
Taxpayers Protection Alliance 

Mike Thompson 
Thomas Jefferson Institute For Public Policy