Say No to Corporate Power Grabs - REJECT THE TRANS-PACIFIC PARTNERSHIP!

Many 350 groups and partners have been working to stop the Fast Tracking of the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) ‘trade’ agreement through Congress because the TPP contains provisions giving corporations a back door veto of laws we need to stop global warming and protect our health and local environments. (More background on TPP below.)

Fast Track is Coming Very Soon. Fast Track means Congress ties its own hands and gives up its Constitutional responsibility to carefully review the deal. This means very limited debate, no amendments and a strict “yes or no” vote within 90 days.

Stopping Fast Track Stops TPP. President Obama is relying on Republicans to pass Fast Track and the TPP, but John Boehner has told the White House it needs to deliver at least 50 House Dems for Fast Track to pass. Many Congressional Democrats are opposed to Fast Tracking the TPP, but those who haven’t stated their position are being ‘encouraged’ by the administration and the New Democrats to go along.

What do we do? 350, the Sierra Club, Friends of the Earth and more than 40 other environmental groups (as well as hundreds of social justice and labor organizations) haveexpressed their opposition to the TPP. We’ve joined coalitions with a broad spectrum of labor and other folks opposed to TPP.

We need to make our voices heard! Please call our Representatives and tell them not to vote for fast track. They need to know that we are outraged by this attempt to subvert democracy. Click here to make a call: http://www.stopfasttrack.com/

Background on TPP: The TPP text has been negotiated and written in secret by the U.S. Trade Representative with active participation nearly 600 corporations including fossil fuel companies, with no public access and only very limited ‘peeks’ for some members of Congress. Documents leaked to WikiLeaks tell us that one of TPP’s most anti-democratic aspects are “investor rights” provisions that allow corporations like Exxon and Chevron to challenge laws essential to stopping global warming. If a law or policy bans dirty energy like fracking, coal or tar sands oil, multinationals can sue sovereign nations, not in national courts but in private trade tribunals for their ‘lost future profits’ . If the tribunal rules in favor of the corporation, governments must either pay unaffordable sums of tax payer money or take the law off the books.

That’s not all. Using investor rights provisions in already existing trade deals like NAFTA, fossil fuel companies are launching challenges to clean energy policies, including a fracking moratorium in Quebec and a nuclear energy phase-out in Germany. Under TPP TransCanada might successfully sue the US if Keystone XL is not approved! As if this weren’t bad enough, the TPP sets rules on everything from food safety to internet freedom to affordable medications. It encourages shipping jobs overseas and a race to the bottom for wages and for environmental protection.

To Learn More, go to: http://www.citizen.org/trade/ http://www.sierraclub.org/Trade and http://flushthetpp.org/.

Thank you!

350 Colorado

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Text Content:

***TPP ALERT***

Dear <<Constituent First Name>>,

We’re emailing to alert you to a major threat to our climate that needs your immediate attention. Many 350 groups and partners have been working to stop the Fast Tracking of the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) ‘trade’ agreement through Congress because the TPP contains provisions giving corporations a back door veto of laws we need to stop global warming and protect our health and local environments. (More background on TPP below.)

Fast Track is Coming Very Soon. Senator Hatch is likely to introduce a Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) bill in late February, designed to Fast Track the TPP through Congress. Fast Track means Congress ties its own hands and gives up its Constitutional responsibility to carefully review the deal. This means very limited debate, no amendments and a strict “yes or no” vote within 90 days.

Stopping Fast Track Stops TPP. President Obama is relying on Republicans to pass Fast Track and the TPP, but John Boehner has told the White House it needs to deliver at least 50 House Dems for Fast Track to pass. Many Congressional Democrats are opposed to Fast Tracking the TPP, but those who haven’t stated their position are being ‘encouraged’ by the administration and the New Democrats to go along.

What do we do? 350, the Sierra Club, Friends of the Earth and more than 40 other environmental groups (as well as hundreds of social justice and labor organizations) have expressed their opposition to the TPP. We’ve joined coalitions with a broad spectrum of labor and other folks opposed to TPP.

We need to make our voices heard! Please call our Representatives and tell them not to vote for fast track. Click here to make a call: http://www.stopfasttrack.com/

When should we act? Now! Reps. need to hear from us during the Congressional recess (Feb 14-23). They need to know that we are outraged by this attempt to subvert democracy.

Attend rallies planned for recess week or organize your own! Here’s an action planned by our friends at RMPJC in Boulder focused on Rep. Polis, who has not declared his position on TPP.

Tuesday, February 17th – Rally and “Drop In and Hang Out” to Stop Fast Track

Rally – 12 pm-1pm outside Cong. Polis’ office at 1644 Walnut Street in Boulder

Drop In and Hang Out – 1pm-5pm. Take a seat inside Polis’ office to show that you are opposed to Fast Track. This is a peaceful demonstration. We ask people to act in a non-violent, peaceful and courteous manner thoughout the day.

Call Congressman Polis’ office

www.StopFastTrack.com is an easy call-in tool

Or call one of his district offices:

Boulder Office 303-484-9596

Fort Collins Office 970-226-1239

Frisco Office 970-409-7301

Tell your friends! Legislators need to get LOTS of calls. Use Twitter and Facebook to spread the word. Remember, if we STOP Fast Track, we STOP the TPP!!

Background on TPP: The TPP text has been negotiated and written in secret by the U.S. Trade Representative with active participation nearly 600 corporations including fossil fuel companies, with no public access and only very limited ‘peeks’ for some members of Congress. Documents leaked to WikiLeaks tell us that one of TPP’s most anti-democratic aspects are “investor rights” provisions that allow corporations like Exxon and Chevron to challenge laws essential to stopping global warming. If a law or policy bans dirty energy like fracking, coal or tar sands oil, multinationals can sue sovereign nations, not in national courts but in private trade tribunals for their ‘lost future profits’ . If the tribunal rules in favor of the corporation, governments must either pay unaffordable sums of tax payer money or take the law off the books.

That’s not all. Using investor rights provisions in already existing trade deals like NAFTA, fossil fuel companies are launching challenges to clean energy policies, including a fracking moratorium in Quebec and a nuclear energy phase-out in Germany. Under TPP TransCanada might successfully sue the US if Keystone XL is not approved! As if this weren’t bad enough, the TPP sets rules on everything from food safety to internet freedom to affordable medications. It encourages shipping jobs overseas and a race to the bottom for wages and for environmental protection.

To Learn More, go to: http://www.citizen.org/trade/ http://www.sierraclub.org/Trade and http://flushthetpp.org/.

Thank you!

350 Colorado