Friends of the Earth Urges House to Reject TAA for a Second Time

On Friday the package of Fast Track trade bills was defeated in the U.S. House of Representatives because a component of the package -- a bill on Trade Adjustment Assistance -- was soundly defeated. The TAA bill would cut Medicare and Medicaid funding for dialysis treatment by hundreds of millions of dollars. This week, however, Speaker Boehner is expected to call a "do over" vote on the bill in an attempt to save Fast Track.

The Fast Track package of bills currently before the House would grease the skids for later approval of the Trans-Pacific and Trans-Atlantic trade agreements, sight unseen by the public

The TPP deal with Japan and other Pacific nations and the TTIP deal with the European Union present an across-the-board attack on food safety, regulation of dangerous chemicals, GMO and food labeling, and a range of global initiatives to address the climate change crisis.

Friends of the Earth President Erich Pica had this to say about the upcoming second vote on the Fast Track package:

Let's be clear, we do not need a 'do over' vote for Fast Track, we need an entire 'redo' of U.S. trade policy. Friends of the Earth encourages members of Congress to continue opposing the TAA -- stopping this environmentally-damaging Fast Track package -- and to send a strong message to President Obama that a fundamental reform of U.S. trade policy is desperately needed.

We should trade with the world under rules that are fair for working families and that encourage environmental and climate responsibility.