{"bills":[{"photos":{"featured":"https://assets.causes.com/bill/photo/s995-114/featured_bipartisan-congressional-trade-priorities-and-accountability-act-of-2015-1454549575.jpg","featured_large":"https://assets.causes.com/bill/photo/s995-114/featured_large_bipartisan-congressional-trade-priorities-and-accountability-act-of-2015-1454549575.jpg","shareable":"https://n.causes.com/share-images/bills/s995-114.png"},"introduced_on":"2015-04-16","title_override":"Should Congress Approve the ‘Fast-Track’ for Free Trade Agreements (Like TPP)? (Senate Version)","summary_override":"

The measure would let the President to submit free trade agreements to Congress for straight approvals or rejections. Congress would be able to up or down vote an agreement, but they could not add in their own amendments. You may have been hearing about it in the news a lot — because it's considered the missing piece to a U.S. entry into the 12-country trade deal, aka, the Trans-Pacific Partnership pact.

Tying Congress' hands on amendments and other legislative hurdles is why this bill is frequently referred to as a ‘fast-track’ for trade agreements. If passed, the fast-track would be available until July 1, 2018, and could be extended another three years at the President’s request.

Under this bill, all the trade agreements that the U.S. tries to get in on would have to meet these overall trade objectives:

To gain more open, equitable, and reciprocal market access.
Lowering or eliminating barriers directly related to trade and investment that have decreased opportunities for U.S. exports in the past.
Strengthening international trade and investment disciplines, and mediating disputes.
Growing the economy, raising living standards, promoting full employment in the U.S., enhancing U.S. competitiveness in terms of the economy (nationally and globally).
Ensuring that trade and environmental policies are mutually supportive — to protect and preserve the environment while optimizing the use of the world’s resources.
Respecting worker rights and the rights of children consistent with core labor standards — basically working in agreements that want to eliminate exploitative child labor.
Maintaining the domestic environmental and labor standards of agreement partners.
Ensuring that small businesses get equal access to international markets, equitable trade benefits, and expanded export market opportunities.
Improving the effectiveness of legal regimes, creating more democratic societies, and bolstering respect for internationally recognized human rights.

For those with transparency concerns — critics who call these fast-track deals \"secret backdoor meetings for corporate power\" — this bill requires that the legislative text of the trade agreement be made public 60 days before the President could sign off on the deal. This legislation would also include a mechanism for taking away the ‘fast-track’ authorities if an agreement doesn’t meet the requirements of this bill in the judgement of either chamber of Congress.

","official_title":"A bill to establish congressional trade negotiating objectives and enhanced consultation requirements for trade negotiations, to provide for consideration of trade agreements, and for other purposes.","short_title":"Bipartisan Congressional Trade Priorities and Accountability Act of 2015","popular_title":null,"short_summary":"Bipartisan Congressional Trade Priorities and Accountability Act of 2015\n\n (Sec. 2) Declares the overall trade negotiating objectives of the United States with respect to any agreement with a foreign country to reduce or eliminate existing tariffs or nontariff barriers of that country or the United States that are unduly burdening and restricting U.S. trade. Includes among such objectives:\n\n more open, equitable, and reciprocal market access; the reduction or elimination of trade barriers and distortions that are directly related to trade and investment and that decrease market opportunities for U.S. exports or otherwise distort U.S. trade; stronger international trade and investment disciplines and procedures, including dispute settlement; enhanced U.S. competitiveness; protection of the environment; respect for worker and children rights consistent with International Labor Organization core labor standards; and equal access of small businesses to international markets. Declares the pr...","summarized":true,"cost":null,"cost_commentary":"A CBO cost estimate is unavailable. However, a CBO analysis of the House version of this bill found that it would cost less than $500,000 over the 2015-2025 period to implement. 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Should Congress Approve the ‘Fast-Track’ for Free Trade Agreements (Like TPP)? (Senate Version)