Tell Congress: No more secret climate attacks. Reject TPP's "Terrible Polluter Protections"!
- by: Nathan Empsall
- recipient: Care2 will instantly send your signature to your U.S. representative
Officially, "TPP" stands for Trans-Pacific Partnership. But if we're being honest with each other, what it really means is Terrible Polluter Protections.
TPP is a trade agreement being negotiated in secret by 12 countries, including the U.S. The secrecy keeps citizens like us from having an official say in the process, but it hasn't blocked powerful corporations from putting their greed ahead of the public good. 85% of the 500 people helping write the treaty are either corporate executives or lobbyists.
Leaked documents show that TPP would allow corporations to sue governments anytime they claim new laws hurt profit, allowing big polluters like the Koch Brothers, Shell, and ExxonMobil to completely destroy fundamental protections for our climate, air and water, and wildlife.
But all that's still not good enough for the greedy corporations. They're also insisting on "fast track authority," trying to ban Congress from voting on any amendments to change the treaty or limit corporate control! They know how transparently bad this deal is for the people, so they're doing everything they can to keep total power and shut out democracy every single way possible.
Sign the petition and pressure Congress: End the secrecy, vote NO on banning amendments from future trade deals, and reject TPP!
Dear [Your representative or senator's name],
If the "Trans Pacific Partnership" is supposed to be so good for the public, how come the public isn't allowed to know what's being negotiated? Why is the treaty secret? Just as importantly, if this is supposed to help the public, why shut out democracy?
For the sake of democracy and involving affected citizens like me in the process, I am writing to ask you to end the secrecy and reject fast track authority for trade agreements. Separately, I am also asking you to reject TPP when it finally comes up for a vote.
[YOUR ADDITIONAL PERSONAL COMMENT HERE]
Democracy matters. That's why it makes absolutely no sense to pass "fast-track authority" and block my elected representatives, leaders like you, from offering amendments and having a full debate. Furthermore, citizens don't know what's being negotiated but private corporations with major conflicts of interest do, and that secrecy needs to end.
We shouldn't turn control of our country over to a small handful of companies - we the people need the biggest say. Yet according to Senator Elizabeth Warren, "85 percent of [TPP working group members] are either corporate executives — senior corporate executives — or lobbyists for the industries that are being affected. The way I see this, that's a tilted process, and a tilted process yields a tilted result."
The treaty itself is as important as the process, and I also want you to reject TPP in its entirety - for many different reasons. Private profit needs to be balanced with the public good, so it doesn't make sense to let private corporations sue the government if laws reduce profit. I am also concerned to read that TPP could lead to an increase in dirty fracking as well as "lead to increased stress on natural resources and species including trees, fish, and wildlife." That all sounds more like "Terrible Polluter Protections!" than "Trans-Pacific Partnership"!
The treaty could also hurt American workers and, based on recent reports, maybe even gut Medicare and encourage violence against LGBT Asians. That isn't what we elected Congress to do. So again I ask: End the secrecy, reject fast-track authority, and when it comes time, vote NO on TPP!
"I live in your district and I want you to protect American workers, Congressional oversight, and the environment! Vote NO on fast tracking TPP!"
Then share this petition far and wide, we only have ONE DAY left!
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