free trade

Bernie Sanders Silent as Corporations Look to Explicitly Grow Profit Margins via Limitless Immigration

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), a self-described Socialist, has remained silent as corporate special interests seek to dramatically shift the nation’s legal immigration system for their benefit. . . . Read more about Bernie Sanders Silent as Corporations Look to Explicitly Grow Profit Margins via Limitless Immigration

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economy

free trade

jobs

enforcement

Snuffing out Fine Latin Cigars Strike the Match of Illegal Immigration?

Cigar diplomacy is back—and once again it is clouding the landscape for an American president. . . . Read more about Snuffing out Fine Latin Cigars Strike the Match of Illegal Immigration?

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economy

free trade

Presidential candidate lays out detailed plan for voters

Posted by Cynthia Kendoll on Thu, 10/27/2016

During an appearance in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, Trump vows to act on these actions in the first 100 days in office.

“On November Eighth, Americans will be voting for this 100-day plan to restore prosperity to our country, secure our communities, and honesty to our government,” Trump says. “This is my pledge to you and if we follow these steps we will once more have a government of, by and for the people and importantly we will make America great again. Believe me.”

Here is the list of the “Contract with the American Voter” policies detailed by Trump:

Propose a Constitutional Amendment to impose term limits on all members of Congress
Institute a hiring freeze on all federal employees to reduce federal workforce through attrition (exempting military, public safety, and public health)
Require for every new federal regulation, two existing regulations must be eliminated.
Institute a five year-ban on White House and Congressional officials becoming lobbyists after they leave government service
Create a lifetime ban on White House officials lobbying on behalf of a foreign government.
Institute a complete ban on foreign lobbyists raising money for American elections.
Announce intention to renegotiate NAFTA or withdraw from the deal under Article 2205.
Announce withdrawal from the Trans-Pacific Partnership.
Direct Secretary of the Treasury to label China a currency manipulator.
Direct the Secretary of Commerce and U.S. Trade Representative to identify all foreign trading abuses that unfairly impact American workers and direct them to use every tool under American and international law to end those abuses immediately.
Lift the restrictions on the production of $50 trillion dollars’ worth of job-producing American energy reserves, including shale, oil, natural gas and clean coal.
Lift the Obama-Clinton roadblocks and allow vital energy infrastructure projects, like the Keystone Pipeline, to move forward.
Cancel billions in payments to U.N. climate change programs and use the money to fix America’s water and environmental infrastructure.
Cancel every unconstitutional executive action, memorandum and order issued by President Obama.
Begin the process of selecting a replacement for Justice Scalia from one of the 20 judges on my list, who will uphold and defend the Constitution of the United States.
Cancel all federal funding to Sanctuary Cities.
Begin removing the more than 2 million criminal illegal immigrants from the country and cancel visas to foreign countries that won’t take them back.
Suspend immigration from terror-prone regions where vetting cannot safely occur. All vetting of people coming into our country will be considered extreme vetting.
Work with Congress on a Middle Class Tax Relief And Simplification Act.An economic plan designed to grow the economy 4% per year and create at least 25 million new jobs through massive tax reduction and simplification, in combination with trade reform, regulatory relief, and lifting the restrictions on American energy. The largest tax reductions are for the middle class. A middle-class family with 2 children will get a 35% tax cut. The current number of brackets will be reduced from 7 to 3, and tax forms will likewise be greatly simplified. The business rate will be lowered from 35 to 15 percent, and the trillions of dollars of American corporate money overseas can now be brought back at a 10 percent rate.
Work with Congress on a End The Offshoring ActEstablishes tariffs to discourage companies from laying off their workers in order to relocate in other countries and ship their products back to the U.S. tax-free.
Work with Congress on a American Energy & Infrastructure ActLeverages public-private partnerships, and private investments through tax incentives, to spur $1 trillion in infrastructure investment over 10 years. It is revenue neutral.
Work with Congress on a School Choice And Education Opportunity ActRedirects education dollars to gives parents the right to send their kid to the public, private, charter, magnet, religious or home school of their choice. Ends common core, brings education supervision to local communities. It expands vocational and technical education, and make 2 and 4-year college more affordable.
Work with Congress on a Repeal and Replace Obamacare ActFully repeals Obamacare and replaces it with Health Savings Accounts, the ability to purchase health insurance across state lines, and lets states manage Medicaid funds. Reforms will also include cutting the red tape at the FDA: there are over 4,000 drugs awaiting approval, and we especially want to speed the approval of life-saving medications.
Work with Congress on a Affordable Childcare and Eldercare Act.Allows Americans to deduct childcare and elder care from their taxes, incentivizes employers to provide on-side childcare services, and creates tax-free Dependent Care Savings Accounts for both young and elderly dependents, with matching contributions for low-income families.
Work with Congress on an End Illegal Immigration ActFully-funds the construction of a wall on our southern border with the full understanding that the country Mexico will be reimbursing the United States for the full cost of such wall; establishes a 2-year mandatory minimum federal prison sentence for illegally re-entering the U.S. after a previous deportation, and a 5-year mandatory minimum for illegally re-entering for those with felony convictions, multiple misdemeanor convictions or two or more prior deportations; also reforms visa rules to enhance penalties for overstaying and to ensure open jobs are offered to American workers first.
Work with Congress on a Restoring Community Safety Act.Reduces surging crime, drugs and violence by creating a Task Force On Violent Crime and increasing funding for programs that train and assist local police; increases resources for federal law enforcement agencies and federal prosecutors to dismantle criminal gangs and put violent offenders behind bars.
Work with Congress on a Restoring National Security Act.Rebuilds our military by eliminating the defense sequester and expanding military investment; provides Veterans with the ability to receive public VA treatment or attend the private doctor of their choice; protects our vital infrastructure from cyber-attack; establishes new screening procedures for immigration to ensure those who are admitted to our country support our people and our values
Work with Congress on a Clean up Corruption in Washington Act.Enacts new ethics reforms to Drain the Swamp and reduce the corrupting influence of special interests on our politics.

Courtesy of Breitbart Read more about Presidential candidate lays out detailed plan for voters

It's worse than you can imagine! The TPP - what is it and how will it impact Oregon?

Alert date:

January 5, 2016

Alert body:

Plan to attend - register today!

Salem City Club Luncheon:

The TRANS-PACIFIC PARTNERSHIP: A Look at the TPP through an Oregon Lens

Friday, January 8, 2016
11:30AM, Lunch; 12 Noon, Program
Willamette Heritage Center at the Mill

There are few programs presented by Salem City Club with a “call for action” national time line for its citizens. This is one of them. The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) is a “trade and investment” pact between the United States and eleven other Pacific-Rim countries, which represented approximately 44% of Oregon’s international trade in 2014. Oregon agriculture and labor interests are said to be significantly impacted by this agreement.
The TPP countries are Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, United States, and Vietnam. China, Oregon’s largest export destination, is noticeably absent. TPP negotiations began in 2008 with little public input and calls for more transparency. WikiLeaks released various sections of the TPP being considered. This was the first public look at possible provisions.

Although the TPP is billed as a trade pact, providing for reduced tariffs on products imported by member countries, the pact also impacts a broad range of issues such as food safety, Internet freedom, medicine costs, financial regulation and more. Congress voted to give the Obama administration Fast Track Authority, which provides for an up or down vote by Congress after a 90-day review period…no amendments allowed.

On January 8, we will be about 60 days into the review period. As of now, members of Oregon’s congressional delegation are still studying the TPP agreement and appear to be split on the subject. The 6,000 page agreement is available on-line from the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative. Additionally, an internet search for TPP Oregon will result in a number of relevant articles.

An hour does not provide enough time for a detailed analysis of the agreement, but we hope to provide you with helpful information as you develop your own analysis of this far reaching trade and investment pact. Public input is critical to this process and the clock is running!

Dr. Russ Beaton, nationally recognized scholar of sustainable economics, will guide us through a summary of the TPP and provisions directly impacting Oregon. Although much of the attention will be given to Oregon-specific products, Dr. Beaton also will address some of the more global aspects of the agreement.

Beaton received his bachelor’s degree from Willamette University and his Master’s and Ph.D. from Claremont University. His original training was in mathematical economics and econometrics, although his doctoral thesis was in location theory and urban land economics, which became a lifetime interest.

After teaching at California State College at Fullerton – now Fullerton State University, and at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, Beaton returned to his alma mater, Willamette University, where he taught economics and did research for 33 years, retiring in 2003.

His teaching interests included Microeconomic Theory, Environmental Economics, Energy Economics, and Regional Economics and the Economy of Oregon – all courses which he developed and introduced.
His research interests have always gravitated toward useful policy efforts that have the capability of directly and immediately affecting the lives of people. He has consulted and done policy-based contract research for several State of Oregon agencies in areas such as land use, agriculture, timber, transportation, energy, housing and general economic policy.

Co-author with Chris Maser of three books, all in the area of sustainable development, Russ has also participated in drafting the legislation, passed by the 1973 Oregon Legislature that created Oregon’s widely acclaimed land use planning system.

For Jan. 8 luncheon reservations, register online or call (503) 370-2808
by noon, Wed. Jan. 6.

Senator Merkley to hold Town Halls - plan to attend

Senator Merkley has announced a series of town halls in January. Please check the list and plan to attend one of the town halls near you. Invite your neighbors and friends to come along, as well. You can raise many questions about the Senator’s positions on immigration issues. You can view and print out a copy of his voting record to give to him, here:

https://www.numbersusa.com/content/my/congress/1341/reportcard/CONGRESS/

In his announcement, he says: “Senator Merkley will update constituents on his work in Washington, D.C. and answer their questions and invite their suggestions about how to tackle the challenges facing Oregon and America.”

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January 5, 2016 @ 11:00 AM

Jefferson County Town Hall

Central Oregon Community College Open Campus - Community Room

1170 E Ashwood Road, Madras, OR 97741

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January 5, 2016 @ 3:00 PM

Crook County Town Hall

Crook County High School - Auditorium

1100 SE Lynn Blvd, Prineville, OR 97754

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January 5, 2016 @ 6:30 PM

Deschutes County Town Hall

Central Oregon Community College - Wille Hall

2600 NW College Way, Bend, OR 97701

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January 6, 2016 @ 10:30 AM

Lake County Town Hall

Memorial Hall - Lake County Courthouse

513 Center Street, Lakeview, OR 97630

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January 6, 2016 @ 3:30 PM

Klamath County Town Hall

Oregon Institute of Technology - Mazama Room, Student Union

3201 Campus Drive, Klamath Falls, OR 97601

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January 7, 2016 @ 9:00 AM

Jackson County Town Hall

Hanby Middle School - Cafeteria

806 6th Avenue, Gold Hill, OR 97525

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January 7, 2016 @ 12:00 PM

Josephine County Town Hall

Grants Pass High School - Library

830 NE 9th Street, Grants Pass, OR 97526

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January 7, 2016 @ 5:00 PM

Curry County Town Hall

Southwest Oregon Community College - Community Meeting Room

96082 Lone Ranch Parkway, Brookings, OR 97415

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January 8, 2016 @ 9:00 AM

Coos County Town Hall

Myrtle Point High School - Cafeteria

717 4th Street, Myrtle Point, OR 97458

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January 8, 2016 @ 12:30 PM

Douglas County Town Hall

Douglas High School – Cafeteria

1381 NW Douglas Blvd, Winston, OR 97496

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January 9, 2016 @ 10:00 AM

Benton County Town Hall

Monroe Community Library - Large Conference Room

380 N Fifth Street, Monroe, OR 97456

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January 9, 2016 @ 1:30 PM

Linn County Town Hall

Brownsville City Hall - City Council Chambers

255 N Main Street, Brownsville, OR 97327

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January 9, 2016 @ 4:00 PM

Lane County Town Hall

Coburg City Hall - City Council Chambers

91136 N Willamette Street, Coburg, OR 97408

Remember - the good Senator works for us. Attend the meeting, ask questions, get answers. Share your experience with OFIR.
Read more about Senator Merkley to hold Town Halls - plan to attend

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House Approves Obamatrade’s TPA, Bill Must Go to Senate Next

Obamatrade is alive.

One week after the House of Representatives overwhelmingly rejected Obamatrade by voting against a key provision of it — Trade Adjustment Assistance — GOP establishment lawmakers resuscitated Trade Promotion Authority and rammed it through Thursday afternoon. The final tally was 218-208.

The House action is unusual. As Breitbart News reported: “To engage in the complicated procedural chicanery needed to revive the once-dead Obamatrade, bringing its Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) portion back to life,

Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) 58% needed to gut a previous bill that has passed the House and Senate and then insert Obamatrade into it. It’s actually a very similar process to how Obamacare passed the House”...

Because the Senate passed TAA and TPA together, the individual House version will now have to go back to the Senate for approval, where it may face a filibuster. It’s unclear how many senators would support TPA without TAA, a measure to aid workers who lose their jobs because of trade policy.

The Senate isn’t expected to take up TPA until next week, but Majority Leader Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) 52% has expressed confidence it can pass. Obamatrade is making for unusual partnerships in Washington. Barack Obama is working with McConnell and House Speaker Rep. John Boehner (R-OH) 35% to pass a measure his own party largely rejects.

Last week he traveled to Capitol Hill to lobby for his trade measures, but shortly before the House vote on TAA, Minority Leader. Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) 9% announced she opposes it. More than 300 representatives ended up voting down TAA, setting the stage for Thursday’s moves to bring TPA back to life. Read more about House Approves Obamatrade’s TPA, Bill Must Go to Senate Next

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CALL NOW! Another Fast Track vote imminent

Alert date:

June 18, 2015

Alert body:

The so-called free trade bill is being pushed again in the House, with all its harmful features expanding Presidential control of immigration, bringing in unlimited numbers of immigrants.

We are forwarding the alert from the Citizens Trade Campaign which targets Representatives who continue to support these bad trade bills.　 Please call or email again. Thank you!

Call Representative Earl Blumenauer: 202-225-4811, or in Oregon: 503-231-2300
Webform for email: Click Contact on the homepage of his website: http://blumenauer.house.gov

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from Citizens Trade Campaign, June 17, 2015:

Fast Track Vote Imminent: Please Contact Your Rep Again Now
Apparently, some politicians didn’t get the message after last week’s vote blocking Fast Track legislation from moving forward in the House.　 As I write this, the House Rules Committee is meeting to discuss a new scheme that would allow Fast Track to be voted on again this Thursday.

TAKE ACTION: Please tell Congress again now to vote NO on Fast Track.

There’s a reason we were able to block Fast Track in the House last week: you and countless others keep telling Congress in no uncertain terms that you want "No Fast Track for the TPP!"　 We can't let up now.

Corporate lobbyists' and certain political elites' attempt to try ramming Fast Track legislation through again so soon after last week's failure � possibly as early as this Thursday � is a desperate movmove.　 I have every confidence we can stop them again, but we need your support once more.

Tell Congress enough is enough, and to say NO to Fast Track for the TPP. 　

You know as well as I do that the stakes here are very high.　 If passed, Fast Track would create a virtual rubber-stamp for dangerous trade agreements like the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) that threaten jobs, wages, the environment, public health and more in your community and communities throughout the world. 　

As House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi wrote recently in USA Today, "As we look to the future, it is clear that this debate on the trade authority is probably the last of it’s kind.　 The intense debate of the past few weeks has further convinced me that we need a new paradigm."

Fast Track legislation really did take a major blow last week.　 Winning this vote should knock Fast Track out for good.　 Please take action now.

Sincerely,

Arthur Stamoulis, Executive Director
CITIZENS TRADE CAMPAIGN
http://www.citizenstrade.org/

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From the Oregon Fair Trade Campaign:

We just found out that a stand-alone Fast Track bill for the TPP is going for a vote in the House tomorrow.

Congresswoman Bonamici has said publicly that she would not vote for Fast Track without Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA). TAA helps workers whose jobs have been displaced by trade. We need to make sure she keeps her word and votes NO on Fast Track this time.

We need tons of constituent calls telling her to stand by her word and stand with Oregonians by voting NO on Fast Track when it comes for a vote tomorrow (Thursday). Please call her offices as soon as possible, and spread the word!

DC Office: (202) 225-0855
Oregon Office: (503) 469-6010

Script:

Hi, my name is ______ 　and I’m calling from __[City]__. Congresswoman Bonamici has said publicly that she would not vote for the Fast Track bill without Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA). I’m calling as a constituent to ask her to keep her word and vote NO on the stand-alone Fast Track bill tomorrow　 [THURSDAY, JUNE 18].

Thank you! Let’s win this!

Elizabeth Swager & Robyn Gottlieb
Oregon Fair Trade Campaign

House blocks trade deal from moving forward but may try again

After votes earlier today, the House has at least for now set aside the threat of giving Presidents the authority to use trade deals to guarantee other countries the ability to send their workers to take jobs in the U.S.

When the Senate passed the "fast-track" Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) bill, it set things up so that it could go to the President to be signed only if the House passed BOTH the TPA and a companion Senate trade assistance bill.

The House today was able to pass only one of those must-pass bills, narrowly approving the TPA bill (219-211). But the trade assistance bill garnered only 126 votes, with 302 voting against it. That effectively killed TPA for the present moment.

Republican House Leaders, however, could decide to bring the trade assistance bill back to the floor early next week in hopes of persuading around 90 Members (mostly Democrats) to switch their vote to pass what Pres. Obama and House Majority Leader Boehner consider to be a top priority.

"We are not done with this," House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) said.

Moments before the first vote, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), who had been silent on the issue, urged Democrats to vote against the two bills, hoping to keep TPA from reaching the President's desk. Pelosi pleaded with Republican House Leadership to focus on legislation that puts American workers first instead of free trade; something she failed to do during the amnesty debates of the past two years.

Pelosi led 144 Democrats in joining 158 Republicans to defeat the trade assistance bill. That was all that was needed today to keep TPA from going to Pres. Obama, who had made a rare personal visit to the Capitol to meet with Democrats in an emotional appeal for them to help him pass TPA as an important part of his legacy.

Tags:

House blocks trade deal from moving forward but may try again

After votes earlier today, the House has at least for now set aside the threat of giving Presidents the authority to use trade deals to guarantee other countries the ability to send their workers to take jobs in the U.S.

When the Senate passed the "fast-track" Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) bill, it set things up so that it could go to the President to be signed only if the House passed BOTH the TPA and a companion Senate trade assistance bill.

The House today was able to pass only one of those must-pass bills, narrowly approving the TPA bill (219-211). But the trade assistance bill garnered only 126 votes, with 302 voting against it. That effectively killed TPA for the present moment.

Republican House Leaders, however, could decide to bring the trade assistance bill back to the floor early next week in hopes of persuading around 90 Members (mostly Democrats) to switch their vote to pass what Pres. Obama and House Majority Leader Boehner consider to be a top priority.

"We are not done with this," House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) said.

Moments before the first vote, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), who had been silent on the issue, urged Democrats to vote against the two bills, hoping to keep TPA from reaching the President's desk. Pelosi pleaded with Republican House Leadership to focus on legislation that puts American workers first instead of free trade; something she failed to do during the amnesty debates of the past two years.

Pelosi led 144 Democrats in joining 158 Republicans to defeat the trade assistance bill. That was all that was needed today to keep TPA from going to Pres. Obama, who had made a rare personal visit to the Capitol to meet with Democrats in an emotional appeal for them to help him pass TPA as an important part of his legacy.

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Greg Walden endorses trade bill, calls it a 'win for jobs and exports in Oregon'

As a House vote nears on the "fast track" trade bill, Oregon Rep. Greg Walden says he will support the legislation clearing the way for approval of the massive Pacific Rim trade pact now in final negotiations..

In a statement released late Tuesday night, Walden said:

"The U.S. House will soon vote on a bill that would allow us to establish fair and strong trade rules. The bill lays out our trade priorities of fairness and competition—to whomever is in the White House. It requires any final agreement be made public for at least 60 days. And it requires an up or down vote in the Congress before any trade agreement is final. It's a win for jobs and exports in Oregon, and a win for transparency and accountability. I intend to support this bill to ensure that we can tear down barriers and open up new markets for Oregon's farmers, ranchers, and small businesses."

Walden's statement appeared to be aimed at part at influencing wavering Republicans in anticipation of what is expected to be a close vote....

Under the fast track bill, known as Trade Promotion Authority, the president can submit a trade pact to Congress for an up or down vote with no amendments allowed.

Walden is chairman of the House Republican campaign committee and thus has strong political ties...

On the Senate side, Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., opposed the bill while Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., helped shape the wording of the measure and was a strong proponent.
Read more about Greg Walden endorses trade bill, calls it a 'win for jobs and exports in Oregon'

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