Fast Track Is Now Back on a Fast Track to the Senate

Thermometer Test

Right now is no time to come up short.

It's time to fight like hell for a democracy where minority rule cannot impose an extreme and cruel agenda, where the Big Lie is called a Big Lie, where facts matter, and where accountability at the polls and in the press has a fighting chance. We have our work cut out for us, and we urgently need to raise about 400,000 by Thursday, June 30, to finish our fiscal year on track and give it everything we possibly can. Please help us get there with a donation if you can right now.

$1,150,000

$1,350,000

Right now is no time to come up short. It's time to fight like hell for a democracy where minority rule cannot impose an extreme and cruel agenda, where facts matter, and where accountability at the polls and in the press has a fighting chance. We have our work cut out for us, and we still need to raise upwards of 400,000 by June 30 to give it everything we can. Please help:

Fight disinformation: Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily newsletter and follow the news that matters.

Well, the House just passed standalone fast-track authority for the Trans-Pacific Partnership treaty. Now it’s on to the Senate, where 14 Democrats voted for it back when it was paired up with TAA, the assistance program for workers who lose their jobs because of the treaty. Will the Gang of 14 still vote for it as a standalone bill? By my count, if there are more than four or five defections, it will fail. Stay tuned.

If it passes, TAA will then get a second vote too, free of fast-track entanglements: “Republicans have decided to tuck the worker assistance components into a noncontentious trade preference bill related to Africa, and send it back to the House for final passage.”

So there you have it. Stay tuned.

POSTSCRIPT: I still don’t have a firm opinion on the treaty since I failed to delve into it over the weekend. Sorry. Unfortunately, my proxy guides aren’t working for me either. On the anti side, I’m no big fan of the IP clauses in the treaty. On the pro side, I’m influenced by the fact that it’s supported by both President Obama and Ron Wyden, my favorite senator. So I’m still on the fence.