Late last week, Senate
Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch, Ranking Member Ron Wyden, and House
Ways and Means Committee Chairman Paul Ryan introduced the Bipartisan
Congressional Trade Priorities and Accountability Act of 2015, legislation
that will renew Trade Promotion Authority (TPA).
Thjs Chamber, the U.S Chamber and many
of you have been outspoken in favor renewing TPA, which is needed to achieve high-quality trade deals that open markets,
benefit American workers and job creators, and grow the economy. (A multi-industry letter, which lists nearly 300 organizations from all 50 states
weighing in on behalf of TPA was delivered to
Capitol Hill this morning.)
As Senate and House
leadership, and President Obama lead a bi-partisan effort to pass this
legislation, several important hearings have been scheduled this week on
Capitol Hill. U.S. Chamber President & CEO Tom Donohue will testify
before the Senate Finance Committee this morning; this will be followed by a
Senate Finance Committee mark-up tomorrow, Wednesday, April 22. On the
House side, Ways and Means has scheduled a hearing for Wednesday morning, and a
mark-up may be held as early as Thursday. Strong votes out of committee
are crucial to building momentum in advance of Floor consideration.
Voicing your support with
your Congressional delegation in support of this TPA legislation is critical,
this week particularly to Senators on the Senate
Finance Committee and Representatives on the
House Ways and Means. A comprehensive library of resources making the
case for TPA can be found below, including
a link to send a letter.
Suggested talking points
for a phone call to Senate Finance and House Ways and Means Members might be
along the lines of:
-
Exports are
critical to our state and community, which is why we are supportive of our
nation’s robust trade agenda.
-
As your committee
looks at these issues this week, we urge you to support the Bipartisan
Congressional Trade Priorities and Accountability Act of 2015 -
bipartisan legislation to renew Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) that was
introduced last week by Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-UT),
Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) and House Ways & Means Committee Chairman Paul
Ryan (R-WI).
-
TPA not only
gives Congress a seat at the table in our on-going trade negotiations, it gives
Congress the final say on a trade agreement in an up or down vote.
-
Growth and jobs
in our state depends on our ability to sell our goods and services to the 95%
of the world’s customers that live outside the United States. TPA will help us
seize the benefits of trade.
-
We urge you to
support the Bipartisan Congressional Trade Priorities and Accountability Act as
introduced.
As always, please do not
hesitate to contact us with any questions, and please let us know what you
learn in your outreach to your Members of Congress.
