Farm and Food Groups Say No to the TPP
The Farm and Ranch Freedom Alliance has joined with 160 farm, food, rural, and faith groups to send a letter to Congress urging legislators to vote no on the Trans-Pacific Trade Partnership (TPP).
As the letter points out: “Independent family farmers and ranchers will see little benefit” from the TPP. “The main beneficiaries of the TPP are the companies that buy, process and ship raw agricultural commodities, not the farmers who face real risks from rising import competition.”
Here are just some of the problems with the TPP:
- Importers will be able to challenge individual border inspection decisions, second-guessing U.S. inspectors about what food is safe and not safe to let into our country.
- Agribusiness and biotech companies will be able to use international tribunals to challenge any real limitations on GMO crops and food, including any country, state, or local government that bans GMO imports, tests for GMO contamination, does not promptly approve new GMO crops, or requires GMO labeling.
- The TPP undermines “Buy American” rules, even when American tax dollars are being spent, giving companies in any TPP nation equal access to U.S. government procurement contracts.
- Thousands of new foreign companies would be able to use the TPP investor suit provisions to challenge federal, state or local laws that they claim interfere with their expected profit, bringing suit against our government in unaccountable international tribunals.
- The TPP will make it easier to relocate American jobs to low-wage countries. As Communication Workers of America president Chris Shelton observed, “It forces U.S. workers to compete with the 65-cent an hour wages of Vietnamese workers and the slave labor employed in Malaysia.”
It’s time for Congress to stand up for American farmers, workers, and consumers. Call your U.S. Representatives and Senators and tell them to reject the TPP!
There is more information, including legislators’ track records on the Fast Track vote that paved the way for the TPP, after the Take Action section.
Take Action
Please call or e-mail your U.S. Representative and both your U.S. Senators. You can find who represents you:
- Online: www.house.gov and www.senate.gov
- By Phone: call the Capital Switchboard at 202-224-3121
Below is a sample message that you can use. Phone calls have a much greater impact than emails. If you send an email, please be sure to personalize your message by adding a couple of sentences at the beginning about who you are and why these issues matter to you.
SAMPLE SCRIPT FOR A CALL or EMAIL:
I urge Representative/ Senator _____ to vote “No” on the Trans-Pacific Partnership.During the fight on Fast Track, many promises were made that the TPP would provide protections for American farmers, workers, and consumers. Those promises were not kept. The final text of the TPP includes provisions that will undermine democratically enacted laws on food safety, GMO labeling, and much more.Any benefit from reductions in tariffs is undermined by the failure to address currency manipulation. A few businesses may benefit, but the majority of American businesses and workers will be the losers, just as we have been under NAFTA, CAFTA, and the U.S.-Korean agreements.I urge you to vote No on the TPP.
MORE INFORMATION
Check out our press release about the groups’ letter and the TPP.
Also, you can view our fact sheet or download a pdf version to email your legislators as a follow-up to your call.
The text of the TPP is available here
LEGISLATORS’ TRACK RECORDS
If your Representative voted NO on Fast Track, that’s a good sign – be sure to thank him or her and urge them to stand firm against the TPP.
If your Representative voted YES on Fast Track, you really need to work on them!
You can see how your Rep voted here (remember: on Fast Track, a NO vote was what we wanted because Fast Track allowed the TPP to move forward with very little debate and no amendments)
TEXAS LEGISLATORS
The most important thing anyone in any state can do is to call your U.S. Representative and both Senators.
For Texans, there are some key districts that we are focused on. If you know people who live in the following districts, please make an extra effort to share this alert with them and encourage them to call!
Below are some key Texas legislators who voted NO on Fast Track: thank them and urge them to stand firm against the TPP:
- Louie Gohmert: Angelina, Gregg, Harrison, Nacogdoches, Panola, Rusk, Sabine, San Augustine, Shelby, Smith, Upshur, and Wood Counties. Map (866) 535-6302
- Gene Green: parts of Harris County. Map (202) 225-1688
- Joaquin Castro: areas north and west of San Antonio, including Leon Valley and part of Alamo Heights. Map 202-225-3236
- Michael Burgess: most of Denton County and portions of Tarrant County. Map (202) 225-7772
- Blake Farenthold: Texas Gulf Coast from Corpus Christi and vicinity to Madagorda County and inland to Bastrop. It includes Victoria, Wharton, Bay City, Luling, Edna, Yocham, Gonzales, Refugio, Halletsville and Shiner. Map (202) 225-7742
Below are some key legislators who voted YES on Fast Track: tell them they need to read the entire TPP because it does not fulfill the promises that were made – and then vote NO on the TPP!
- Beto O’Rourke: El Paso, 202-225-4831
- Ted Poe: parts of Harris County. Map (202) 225-6565
- John Ratcliffe: Rockwall County, Rains County, and part of Collin County; includes Rockwall, Sherman, and Texarkana. Map (202) 225-6673
- Lamar Smith: from northern San Antonio to Austin and the Hill Country; includes New Braunfels, San Marcos, Boerne, Kerrville, Leakey, and Fredericksburg. Map 202-225-4236
- Brian Babin: southeast Texas: Newton, Jasper, Tyler, Polk, Orange, Hardin, Liberty, and Chambers counties, as well as portions of southeastern Harris County. Map 202-225-1555