January 21, 2015:  Thanks to thousands of people who spoke up for our national sovereignty and our economy, Americans successfully stopped two damaging trade agreements from being “fast tracked” last year.  But it’s not over yet!

As President Obama made clear in his State of the Union address, he is still intent on getting authority for the  “Fast Track” approach, which prevents an open debate on the terms of trade agreements. And the Republican leadership appears to be prepared to abandon Congress’ constitutional duties  and give the President a blank check to essentially re-write our laws.

All of this is being driven by powerful corporations such as Walmart, Cargill, and Monsanto.  While the public isn’t allowed to see the draft trade agreements, these companies have been involved in the negotiation process.

The public deserves the right to know what is being proposed in our names for international agreements that could set the rules in our country not only for tariffs — but also for food safety, “Buy Local” preferences, energy and environmental policy, financial regulations, consumer labeling and more.

The big corporations know that if these trade agreements are subject to an open debate in Congress, they almost certainly can’t pass.  So they are bringing back their Fast Track bill this year and will do everything they can to push it through.

Please help us stop Fast Track by calling your U.S. Representative today! We won this fight last year, and we MUST win it again in 2015!

Take Action: Contact Your U.S. Representative

Please call or e-mail your U.S. Representative. You can find who represents you at www.house.gov or by calling the Capital Switchboard at 202-224-3121

Below is a sample message that you can use.  Phone calls will have the most impact.  If you send an email, please be sure to personalize your message! Add a couple of sentences at the beginning about who you are and why these issues matter to you — it will make a much bigger impact than a form email.

Sample Message for Calls

My name is ___ and I am a constituent. I am calling to urge Representative ____  to vote NO on Fast Track authority for the TPP and other trade agreements.

Both the Trans-Pacific Partnership and the U.S.-EU Free Trade Agreement will harm American workers and consumers.

A true free trade agreement would remove trade barriers such as tariffs and quotas — and it would stop there. But these agreements go far beyond free trade, and they would undermine our domestic laws. The deals will increase the flow of dangerous fish imports from Southeast Asia, lower our consumer product and food safety standards, increase exports of natural gas to Japan, and undermine financial regulations.

Fast Track authority leaves the decisions on these agreements in the President’s hands alone. That’s not how Congress is supposed to work. And whether it is called Fast Track or Smart Track, if the bill does not contain enforceable limitations that include the ability for Congress to debate the specific terms of a trade agreement, it’s the wrong road for the United States.

I urge Representative ____ to vote NO on Fast Track authority for trade agreements, in order to keep the proper checks and balances in our system.

[Full Name]
[City, State]

Spread the word about the  #NoFastTrack Call-In Day

A coordinated #NoFastTrack Call-In Day is TODAY, Wednesday, January 21.  Groups that work on all kinds of issues, from the full range of the political spectrum, are mobilizing their supporters to speak out.

After you’ve called your U.S. Representative, please help spread the word through social media, by sharing this message on facebook or tweeting using the #NoFastTrack hashtag.

You can also re-post graphics from our Facebook page, or download them by clicking on the graphics below:

Thanks to similar efforts earlier last year, over a million Americans spoke out to beat back an attempt to pass a “Fast Track” bill. We have to stand strong again in 2015. By taking action together, we can beat back “Fast Track” now and into the future.

NOVEMBER 2014: Tell Congress to say NO to Fast Track on trade deals.

We need your help to stop the latest push for “Fast Track” legislation. This type of legislation would enable corporate power grabs – like the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade agreement – to be rushed through Congress without the normal procedures for amendments and debate.

President Obama and other heads of state are meeting in Asia this month in an attempt to push forward the TPP negotiations. Literally millions of people throughout the world have complained about the extreme secrecy surrounding the ongoing TPP negotiations.

While the public has been shut out of the TPP negotiating process, hundreds of corporate lobbyists – representing companies such as Walmart, Cargill and Monsanto – have had access to the texts. This double standard has assured that the TPP has been written in corporations’ interests, with little regard for farmers or working families.

We’ve argued that the public deserves the right to know what is being proposed in our names for an international agreement that could set the rules in our country not only for tariffs – but also for food safety, “Buy Local” preferences, energy and environmental policy, financial regulations, Internet protocols, consumer labeling and more.

The big corporations know that if these trade agreements are subject to an open debate in Congress, they almost certainly can’t pass. So they want Congress to give up its constitutional authority and basically hand President Obama (and whoever follows him) a blank check to make the agreements.

They are calling for “Fast Track” to be passed during the post-election “Lame Duck” session of Congress, when political accountability to constituents is often at its lowest. Fast Track is an extreme procedure that was used in the past to push through the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), the World Trade Organization (WTO), and other devastating deals that could not pass under normal democratic procedures. We’ve seen the results, and they aren’t pretty!

Join Us for #StopFastTrack Week

A coordinated #StopFastTrack Week of Action is taking place right now, with a broad range of groups across the issue spectrum mobilizing their supporters to speak out. Contacting Congress is the critical first step – see our action item below!

Another way to participate is by attending a rally or community forum, writing a Letter to the Editor or sending sample Tweets with the #StopFastTrack hashtag. You can find tools to help with all these actions at www.citizenstrade.org/ctc/blog/2014/10/23/stopfasttrack-week-action

You can also re-post graphics from our Facebook page, or download them by clicking on the graphics below:

Click to download

Click to download

Thanks to similar efforts earlier this year, over a million Americans spoke out to beat back an attempt to pass a “Fast Track” bill. It’s only now, after the election, that TPP boosters feel comfortable trying to sneak “Fast Track” to the floor again. By taking action together, we can beat back “Fast Track” now and into the future.

Take Action: Contact Your U.S. Representative and Senator

Please call or e-mail your U.S. Representative and Senators. You can find who represents you at www.house.gov, www.senate.gov, or by calling the Capital Switchboard at 202-224-3121.

Below is a sample message that you can use as the basis for your own email, or to get talking points for a call to the legislators. If you send an email, please be sure to personalize your message! Add a couple of sentences at the beginning about who you are and why these issues matter to you — it will make a much bigger impact.

Sample Message for Emails and Calls

My name is ___ and I am a constituent. I am calling to urge Representative ____ / Senator ____ to vote NO on Fast Track authority for the TPP and other trade agreements.

Both the Trans-Pacific Partnership and the U.S.-EU Free Trade Agreement will harm American workers and consumers.

A true free trade agreement would remove trade barriers such as tariffs and quotas — and it would stop there. But these agreements go far beyond free trade, and they would undermine our domestic laws. The deals will increase the flow of dangerous fish imports from Southeast Asia, lower our consumer product and food safety standards, increase exports of natural gas to Japan, and undermine financial regulations.

Fast Track authority leaves the decisions on these agreements in the President’s hands alone. That’s not how Congress is supposed to work. And whether it is called Fast Track or Smart Track, if the bill does not contain enforceable limitations that include the ability for Congress to debate the specific terms of a trade agreement, it’s the wrong road for the United States.

I urge Representative ____ / Senator ____ to vote NO on Fast Track authority for trade agreements, in order to keep the proper checks and balances in our system.

[Name]
[City, State]