re: DeSantis voted for TPP (Trans Pacific Partnership) in 2015

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what else was in that bill that made him vote for it it

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Nothing.

It was a stand alone bill. It was a bill that was considered to be obscure and no one was paying attention at the time except for people like me.

This vote made H.R. 2146 the vehicle for passage of Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) for the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade was considered TPP fast track authority for Obama, passed by the House.

Normally TPA legislation is good. Normally TPA legislation is Congress flexing its authority and checking the executive branch on trade conditions. However this version of TPA abdicated congressional authority to the executive branch. Fast track would have allowed the president to send already signed trade pacts, including the TPP, to Congress for a straight up-or-down vote with no amendments and a maximum of 20 hours of debate. That would have totally weakened the House's position on trade.

Now on the Senate side the Dems and Reps were at an impasse on TPP. The only way the Dems were going to get a yes vote on TPP was with the passage of the Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA). This was a bill designed to help all the people holding jobs that would have been lost due to the passage of TPP.

I know it's all complicated but here is a summary:

TPP - Reps wanted without TAA. Dems wanted with TAA.

TPA - been around since 1974 for various trade deals. TPA gives congress a say so in trade deals. The last version that passed in the House and voted for by DeSantis but failed in the Senate would have weakened the House's input into trade deals. TPP would have passed easier with the modified version of TPA at the time...TPP was the context of TPA at the time.


In the end TPP was killed because Trump was elected as president and he killed it once elected and inaugurated.