[Peace] stop war and bad trade deals now

[Debra Schrishuhn]

Good morning, Everyone.

Last week Sen. Kirk and 46 other Republican Senators made an
unprecedented attempt to undermine U.S. diplomacy. Sen. Bernie Sanders
says they’re “itching for war with Iran.” Meanwhile, bills have been
introduced to ease the path to war in the Middle East, while the drum
beat for corporate-dominated free trade agreements continues. Please
reply to this email if you agree that diplomacy should trump military
action and that trade agreements should favor the people of the
countries involved, not multinational corporations.

Our letters to Sen. Kirk, Sen. Durbin, and Reps. Davis/Shimkus are
appended below.

For a more progressive future,
Deb

Debra Schrishuhn
Database Administrator
Progressive Democrats of America
pdamerica.org
============
Dear Senator Durbin:

As active voters in Illinois, we ask you to join with us supporting
diplomacy and peace by filibustering and voting against legislation
that could increase the risk of war including the Corker bill (S. 615)
and the Kirk-Menendez bill (S. 1881). We thank you for your opposition
to trade promotion authority (TPA), and also urge you to vote against
the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and the Transatlantic Trade and
Investment Partnership (TTIP).

Delicate multinational negotiations on Iran are currently underway.
Should these talks fail, our international prestige and national
security would suffer. Partisanship should end at the water’s edge. We
should pull together for peace. We understand that 47 Republican
Senators have recklessly gone behind President Obama’s back. Please
step back from such rash and reckless policies, including any bill
that would let Congress veto a diplomatic solution with Iran, that
would prevent lifting of current sanctions in return for real
progress, or impose new sanctions.

We urge you to filibuster and vote against Trade Promotion Authority
(TPA), also called “fast track”, and we also urge you to filibuster
and vote against the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and the
Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP). We support fair
trade, and understand these deals are not yet finalized. However, we
have learned troubling facts about them. Legislation for rarely used
TPA may be introduced soon, seeking to severely limit Senate
deliberations. This is unacceptable, because the TPP and TTIP would
cover areas of policy, far beyond trade and tariffs, affecting
American policy for several decades.

Rather than lower barriers—i.e. promote fair trade—or help create good
American jobs, these secretly-negotiated deals would elevate
corporations to the status of sovereign nations. The TPP has 29
chapters, but only 5 pertain to trade. Good deals aren’t hidden from
public view or Senate oversight, and don’t need gimmicks like “fast
track” to gain passage. The TPP and TTIP would accelerate the “race to
the bottom” begun and locked in by past expansive and unfair
commercial deals that led to exploding U.S. trade deficits, killed
jobs, and forced down wages and benefits. Protect American families
and promote our small businesses by demanding full committee
consideration and debate on the TPP and TTIP. Please oppose, vote
against, and filibuster “fast track” trade authority (TPA) for the TTP
and TTIP commercial deals.

Thank you for your consideration.

===========
Dear Senator Kirk:

As active voters in Illinois, we ask you to join with us supporting
diplomacy and peace by filibustering and voting against legislation
that could increase the risk of war, including the Corker bill (S.
615) and removing your support from the Kirk-Menendez bill (S. 1881).
We also urge you to vote against trade promotion authority (TPA), and
to vote against the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and the
Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP).

Delicate multinational negotiations on Iran are currently underway.
Should these talks fail, our international prestige and national
security would suffer. Partisanship should end at the water’s edge. We
should pull together for peace. We understand that you are one of 47
Republican Senators who have recklessly gone behind President Obama’s
back. Please step back from such rash and reckless policies, including
any bill that would let Congress veto a diplomatic solution with Iran,
that would prevent lifting of current sanctions in return for real
progress, or impose new sanctions.

We urge you to filibuster and vote against Trade Promotion Authority
(TPA), also called “fast track”, and we also urge you to filibuster
and vote against the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and the
Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP). We support fair
trade, and understand these deals are not yet finalized. However, we
have learned troubling facts about them. Legislation for rarely used
TPA may be introduced soon, seeking to severely limit Senate
deliberations. This is unacceptable, because the TPP and TTIP would
cover areas of policy, far beyond trade and tariffs, affecting
American policy for several decades.

Rather than lower barriers—i.e.,. promote fair trade—or help create
good American jobs, these secretly-negotiated deals would elevate
corporations to the status of sovereign nations. The TPP has 29
chapters, but only 5 pertain to trade. Good deals aren’t hidden from
public view or Senate oversight, and don’t need gimmicks like “fast
track” to gain passage. The TPP and TTIP would accelerate the “race to
the bottom” begun and locked in by past expansive and unfair
commercial deals that led to exploding U.S. trade deficits, killed
jobs, and forced down wages and benefits. Protect American families
and promote our small businesses by demanding full committee
consideration and debate on the TPP and TTIP. Please oppose, vote
against, and filibuster “fast track” trade authority (TPA) for the TTP
and TTIP commercial deals.

Thank you for your consideration.

===================
Dear Representative Davis/Shimkus:

As active voters in District 13/15, we ask you to join with us
supporting diplomacy and peace by cosponsoring H.J.Res. 30: “To
require a strategy and report to counter the Islamic State in Iraq and
the Levant,” and by opposing and voting against legislation that could
increase the risk of war. We also urge you to vote against trade
promotion authority (TPA), and to vote against the Trans-Pacific
Partnership (TPP) and the Transatlantic Trade and Investment
Partnership (TTIP).

Delicate multinational negotiations on Iran are currently underway.
Should these talks fail, our international prestige and national
security would suffer. Partisanship should end at the water’s edge. We
should pull together for peace. We understand that 47 Republican
Senators have recklessly gone behind President Obama’s back. Please
step back from such rash and reckless policies, including any bill
that would let Congress veto a diplomatic solution with Iran, that
would prevent lifting of current sanctions in return for real
progress, or impose new sanctions.

War in Iraq caused the current crisis. We need a new policy. Support
the comprehensive effort to defeat ISIL. Please contact Rep. Barbara
Lee’s office at (202)-225-2661 to cosponsor H.J.Res. 30. Rep. Lee
said, “As we work to degrade and dismantle ISIL, we must be
comprehensive in our strategy. National security experts have clearly
stated that there is no military solution to ISIL. In order to
ultimately degrade and dismantle ISIL, we must craft a robust
regionally-led, political, economic and diplomatic strategy.”

Please vote against TPA / “fast track”, and against the TPP and the
TTIP. We support fair trade, however we have learned the TPP and TTIP
go far beyond trade and tariffs. Like similar deals, they would
eliminate good American jobs. The TPP has 29 chapters, but only 5
pertain to trade. The rest would override our rights to determine our
labor, environmental, consumer, and other policies, and put special
interests over the needs of American small businesses and families.

Rather than promote fair trade and lower barriers, these deals would
elevate corporations to the status of sovereign nations. Rarely-used
TPA may be introduced soon, to severely limit House oversight. Good
deals aren’t cloaked in secrecy. Only bad deals need “fast track” for
passage.

We look forward to engaging you on these and other issues in the future.