- Your Town
To the Editor,
Montanans need to be aware of a worrisome bill now being considered by the US House of Representatives. The bill, Trade Promotion Authority, is more commonly known as the “Fas t Track” bill. If passed, it would authorize President Obama to sign the US on to trade agreement s wi thout f i r s t informing or having a discussion with the American people. Congress would then only be able to vote the agreement up or d own , wi t h o u t a n y amendments possible.
Trade agreement s such as NAFTA have, in the past, promised great things and produced mostly negative results for American farmers and workers. Why would our representat ives be in favor of this short-cutting of the democratic process and giving President Obama such power? Yet Montana’s congressman Daines is on record as favoring Fast Track.
We all need to learn more about Fast Track and let Representative Daines know how we stand. Major trade agreement s that ac tual l y threaten US sovereignty are being cooked up behind closed doors. Let’s ask that those doors be opened so we can all see what’s in store!
Mary Anne Mercer