Senate blocks discussion of Trade Authority

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senate Majority leader Mitch McConnell failed to get the 60 votes necessary to begin debate on the Hatch-Wyden trade promotion authority bill. If passed the bill would grant President Obama power to sign two sweeping trade deals that threaten people and the planet — even before Congress has a chance to vote on them.

The vote happened the day Friends of the Earth joined with Food & Water Watch, and Greenpeace to begin running ads in Oregon and Washington, D.C. criticizing Rep. Earl Blumenauer for his vote supporting a similar bill in a House subcommittee. 

Friends of the Earth Climate and Energy Program Director Benjamin Schreiber had the following response to today’s vote:

Americans should be concerned that President Obama continues to pressure Congress into giving him authority to Fast Track bad trade deals that would create a new bill of rights for corporate polluters. Today’s vote in the Senate showed that the outcome is not a fait accompli. This is an important battle with huge stakes. With corporate polluters like Exxon Mobil taking us to the verge of a climate crisis we cannot afford to give them new rights. No one is a climate champion if they support these destructive trade deals.

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Expert contact: Ben Schreiber, (202) 222-0752, [email protected]
Communications contact: Kate Colwell, (202) 222-0744, [email protected]