WASHINGTON — A Democratic congressman has accused the Obama administration of dodging his request for “unimpeded” access to two controversial trade agreements — reigniting a dispute over transparency as the president presses legislators for so-called “fast-track” authority, which would block members of Congress from offering amendments to either deal.
Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-Texas), a senior member of the House Ways and Means Committee, wants to view an unredacted copy of the proposed text of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP). He wants to bring his chief of staff, who has a top security clearance, and he wants to be able to take notes privately. He also wants to review documents that show the position of each country participating in the agreements, as well how the U.S. position has changed over the course of the negotiations.
In a letter this week, Doggett accused Michael Froman, the United States Trade Representative (USTR), of avoiding his requests since January. “USTR has provided no legal justification for denying such Member and staff review,” wrote Doggett.
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“They created ground rules that are farcical,” he said, claiming that he couldn’t have staff in the room, couldn’t go home with the documents, couldn’t take notes of the documents, couldn’t discuss the contents with staff, constituents in the media or other members of Congress outside of a classified facility, and had to be watched while he was reading.
“I said after reading the documents, ‘It’s a punch in the face to the American middle class, but I can’t tell you why,'” he added.
