As Crucial Vote Nears, How Many Dems Will Stand Against Destructive TPP?

With proponents expressing increasing confidence that they have the bipartisan support to pass Fast Track in the House—and Republicans pushing to hold a vote as early as next week and certainly by the end of the month—progressive groups are dialing up the pressure on key lawmakers whose influence they see as critical in the fight over corporate-friendly trade deals.

In particular, groups including the Electronic Frontier Foundation, CREDO Action, and Democracy for America are targeting House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), who thus far has declined to say how she’ll vote on Fast Track, or trade promotion authority.

Passed by the Senate last month, the Fast Track bill would grant Congress an up-or-down vote on Obama’s trade deals, but prohibit amendments or a filibuster in the Senate. The authority is seen as a necessary step in the president’s bid to finalize the highly secretive Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), which continues to amass foes on many fronts.

While progressives in the House, such as Keith Ellison (D-Mich.), Raúl Grijalva (D-Ariz.), and Donna Edwards (D-Md.), have been outspoken in their opposition to Fast Track and the so-called “free trade” deals it is meant to promote, the mainstream Democratic apparatus—while not supporting Fast Track outright—has been more accommodating to the White House, providing what groups call “extraordinary access to the Democratic House Caucus to make its case.”

“As progressive opposition to Fast Track intensifies, Leader Pelosi is conspicuously absent from the fight,” said Murshed Zaheed, deputy political director at CREDO Action. “President Obama has chosen to side with Republicans and big corporations. Now Leader Pelosi has to decide if she’s going to use her position to help President Obama or rally her caucus on behalf of the millions of Americans who want to stop Fast Track and the TPP.”

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