"It's rare these days that across the aisle, Congress agrees on anything, so it's notable that a large bipartisan bloc insists on maintaining the exclusive constitutional authority over trade that the Founding Fathers wisely granted to Congress."
Maintaining the role of Congress in trade negotiations is not just a matter of respecting the system of checks and balances.
It is about fundamental economic issues, issues that will -- in particular -- define the futures of manufacturing communities.
"Given how previous trade agreements have devastated local manufacturing sectors and shipped American jobs overseas, it would be unwise for Congress to ram through new trade deals without offering proper oversight," says Pocan. "Massive trade deals -- such as the Trans Pacific Partnership -- now affect everything from America's economy, to consumer and food safety, to labor standards and our environment."
Read Next: George Zornick on congressional efforts to make federal settlements more transparent .
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