Trade Promotion Authority reins in the Obama Administration

Though our Founders wisely established three separate but equal branches of government, the Obama administration has a lengthy track record of disregarding Congress and governing by executive action. This lack of accountability has been disastrous for economic freedom and government transparency.

In my talks with Nebraskans, many have expressed concerns about the growth of government and asked what is being done to rein in the executive branch. Oversight is a key responsibility of Congress, but our efforts have been hampered by an uncooperative administration. Fortunately, we have a unique opportunity right now to restore checks and balances on trade.

The House Ways and Means Committee, on which I serve, is working to put Congress in the driver’s seat on U.S. trade initiatives. In late April, the Committee passed the Trade Priorities and Accountability Act, legislation also known as Trade Promotion Authority or TPA. This bill would give Congress the authority to direct and oversee the administration’s trade negotiations.

There is a lot of misinformation going around about TPA, but here’s a fact: if we do not pass TPA now, we will not only sacrifice America’s opportunity to set the rules of the global marketplace, but we will also miss a rare window to bring accountability to an administration which has too often refused to acknowledge it.

President Obama currently has the constitutional authority to negotiate a trade agreement with any country he wishes and with no congressional oversight or transparency. TPA reins in the President’s authority, requiring the administration’s negotiating process to be directed by Congress.

Under this legislation, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative must promptly provide the classified texts of all trade negotiations at the request of any Members of Congress. To provide even more transparency, the law would require the text of any completed trade agreement to be made public online for at least 60 days before the President can sign it. Without TPA, there is nothing to compel the administration to share these texts with Congress or the American people.

If a trade agreement is deemed by Congress to meet all the required objectives under TPA, it would be given an up-or-down vote. If not, TPA has a built-in off switch to stop the agreement from moving forward. TPA gives Congress the final say – and we will not approve a bad deal.

Those with concerns about President Obama’s tendency to overstep his constitutional bounds should be the first to support TPA. This legislation limits the President’s power while increasing Congress’s role in trade negotiations. We should not miss the chance to put such a crucial form of congressional oversight into law.

With more than 95 percent of the world’s consumers living outside our borders, we must open more markets to U.S. producers to keep our country from falling behind. Passing TPA is the necessary first step to ensure trade agreements reflect the priorities of the American people. We cannot allow this opportunity to both assert American leadership in the world economy and impose accountability on the Obama administration to slip away.

Originally published in Red Alert Politics.