Tag Archives: ryan

TPP: Fast –Track Is Back: Shall It Pass?

Posted on June 18, 2015 by Joe Firestone | 1 comment

Under this plan, they say, the President and the Republicans get what they want, and so do the free trade Democrats (as without their saying it do the funders of both parties). In addition, the free trade Democrats have the TAA fig leaf they believe they need to defend them against primary challengers and Republicans who may run against them saying that the sold out American workers and national sovereignty to foreigners.

Sounds wonderful, doesn’t It? But here are the process problems with it.

Step one assumes that a clean TPA bill can pass the House. Proponents of this step assume that this will happen because 191 Republicans and 28 Democrats, a total of 219 members of the House, passed such a bill last Friday, June 12th, while 54 Republicans and 157 Democrats, or 211 members voted to defeat it. Continue reading →

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Posted in Joe Firestone

Tagged boehner, clinton, congress, democracy, Democratic Leadership, Fast-track, Pelosi, Republican leadership, ryan, sovereignty, TAA, the House, TPA, TPP, Trade Adjustment Assistance, Trade Promotion Authority, Trans-Pacific Partnership

TPP: Fast –Track, the Next Rounds In Congress

Posted on June 15, 2015 by Joe Firestone | 1 comment

The roll call 126-302 vote (Roll call 361) defeating the Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) bill was a result worth a little celebrating on Friday, since it was a very decisive victory on that particular vote, and also stopped the Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) fast track bill from being sent to the President’s desk for signature. If the vote on TAA hadn’t failed, it would have been far more difficult (I don’t say impossible as many do) to defeat all manner of “free trade” agreements (aka multinational sovereignty agreements), including the currently scheduled Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), and the Trade in Services (TiSA) agreements over the next year or so.

Everything we know about these agreements is that they would have been a disaster for all but an extremely small segment of the people of the United States. So, we ought to be overjoyed that, for now, fast-track is stalled in the House, and may get pigeon-holed there for quite some time to come, if the re-vote on TAA fails. Still as Kevin Zeese and Margaret Flowers, and Bill Black say in their recent posts, this stall may be short-lived if we don’t keep up the pressure and make sure that the Republicans and Democrats in Congress, along with the President are, unsuccessful in reversing Friday’s vote on the TAA. Continue reading →

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Posted in Joe Firestone

Fast –Track: It Looks Like It’s In Pelosi’s Lap or Maybe Not!

Posted on June 11, 2015 by Joe Firestone | Comments Off

There are 246 Republicans and 188 Democrats in the House. Republicans, led by John Boehner and Paul Ryan, say they are confident about having enough votes to hold a successful floor vote on Friday, June 12th.. However, Politico reports that Republican sources are saying they will get anywhere from 180 – 200 votes for fast-track, which doesn’t sound very different from their at least 190 vote estimate as of June 3rd.

So, that leaves anywhere from 46 – 66 Republican opponents of the legislation. The top of this range is very near the maximum of 57 Republicans that TPP opponents have previously estimated could vote against it, except that on the high side it acknowledges the possibility that Republicans may have lost ground compared to a week ago.

Last week, also, supporters of the bill reportedly could not count on more than 17 Democrats to vote for it, and no more than 20 after all the maneuvering and politicking has occurred. Today, the number of committed TPP Democrats seems to be 20, with the recent addition of Don Beyer (D-VA), Kathleen Rice (D-NY), and Jim Himes (D-CT). So, it appears not much progress has been made toward the 218 votes required to carry the fast-track authority in spite of all the activity and much posturing from the pro-TPP forces. Continue reading →

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Posted in Joe Firestone

Tagged boehner, Clyburn, congress, consent of the governed, DeLauro, democracy, Democratic Leadership, Fast-track, Hoyer, investor state dispute settlement, ISDS, Matthew Doyle, Mo Brooks, Pelosi, ryan, sovereignty, the House, TPP, Trans-Pacific Partnership

Boehner’s Trophy

Posted on October 16, 2013 by Devin Smith | 10 comments

By William K. Black

This article is inspired by David Firestone’s article in the New York Times entitled “Boehner’s Last Stand.” Firestone’s lead is the key:

“The nature of Speaker John Boehner’s final battle with the White House on the budget crisis is now clear: It doesn’t matter what House Republicans win in exchange for raising the debt ceiling and re-opening government, as long as they win something.”

I write to propose an award a grateful nation should immediately bestow on Boehner in a national ceremony broadcast live on every media outlet from the White House’s Rose Garden – The Winner’s Trophy. It should be in the form of a Boehner-sized weeping angel bearing the following inscription:

Continue reading →

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Posted in William K. Black

Tagged boehner, Cruz, ryan

What Does Paul Ryan NOT Understand about Reserve Banking?

Posted on April 9, 2013 by Devin Smith | 37 comments

By J. D. Alt

It’s clear that Paul Ryan believes the Federal government uses money created by the U.S. banking industry for its sovereign spending. If this actually were the case, we’d be correct in believing that, like the rest of us, the Federal government has to EARN the dollars it spends—in its case, by collecting taxes, fines and fees—or it will have borrow them from someone who has more dollars than they need. There would also be some justification for Congressman Ryan’s fearful belief that the Federal government is spending a whole lot more dollars than it “earns” and, as a result, is having to borrow way more dollars that it can ever pay back. Continue reading →

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Posted in J. D. Alt

Tagged reserve banking, ryan

Ryan and Romney’s Secret Plan to Cut the Deficit – and why Romney opposes it

Posted on October 15, 2012 by Devin Smith | 16 comments

By William K. Black
(Cross posted at Benzinga.com)

My favorite scene from The West Wing is the episode in which the President’s press secretary is recovering from a root canal and Josh Lyman decides to handle a press briefing. Lyman is a young whiz kid who believes he is the smartest guy in the room, but the briefing goes disastrously. Lyman has to explain to the President that he has, sarcastically, told the press that the President has “a secret plan to fight inflation.” The press, fed up with Lyman’s arrogance, has decided to report Lyman’s statement about the secret plan without noting the sarcasm. Worse is still to come, for upon questioning Lyman about the incident, the President asks in exasperation: “Are you telling me that not only did you invent a secret plan to fight inflation but now you don’t support it?” Continue reading →