Senate votes to fast track polluting trade deals

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Senate filed cloture on the Hatch-Wyden Trade Promotion Authority bill by a vote of 62-38. The bill would grant President Obama power to send signed trade agreements to Congress for votes with limited debate and no amendments.

Friends of the Earth Climate and Energy Campaigner Luísa Abbott Galvão had the following response to today’s vote:

The majority of our senators chose corporate polluters over the American people by voting to forfeit their input into trade negotiations. Fast Track eases approval of trade deals with provisions that would impede future action by Congress and states to act on climate. A vote for Fast Track is a vote to accelerate climate change in the name of corporate profits.

###

Expert contact: Luísa Abbott Galvão, (202) 222-0716, [email protected]
Communications contact: Kate Colwell, (202) 222-0744, [email protected]