A freshman congressman is staunchly opposing legislation to grant President Obama Trade Promotion Authority because he fears Obama will end up weakening national security through a bad deal.
Rep. Steve Russell, R-Okla., says the last thing the Republican Congress should do is give Obama more power during is final 19 months in office.
“Do we really want, with the last months of this president, and him wanting to establish a legacy, to run in haste into some Asian construct that could put us in a very dangerous future situation?” asked Russell. “I’m just not willing to grant him that authority.
Russell gained notoriety for leading the U.S. Army unit that captured Saddam Hussein near Tikrit in 2003. He says Obama’s performance in Iraq and many other places over the past six-and-a-half years convinces him that the last thing Obama needs is more power.
“For example: Syria, the red line, picking the wrong side to arm that turns into ISIS and then calling ISIS a jayvee team only to realize it’s a serious situation we still don’t have a strategy for,” said Russell. “Iraq, that it would work on its own if we pulled out. Then we also see the problems of the Arab Spring that’s turned into nuclear winter, the issues with Crimea and Ukraine. I can go on and on.”
The debate is triggering some strange political bedfellows, with union-backing liberals teaming with Obama-distrusting conservatives and protectionists from both parties in fighting against Trade Promotion Authority, or TPA, and the looming Trans-Pacific Partnership, or TPP.
Russell says is coming at this issue from a unique perspective in trying to protect national security.
“Maybe they’ve got concerns about secrecy or sovereignty or whatever and all of those issues are important. On the progressive side, they’re worried about labor and wages and manufacturing trade unions. I don’t come at this issue from any of that,” said Russell.
“All of that, although it is important, is not going to result in destructive forces being unleashed between our nation and Pacific nations (which it will) if we fail on the national security side,” he said.
The man Russell replaced in the House sees things very differently.
Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., recently told us why he supports TPA and believes concerns about Obama’s handling of that power are largely unwarranted.
“In all likelihood, this trade agreement wouldn’t be complete until the next president. So we’re lining up at the end of this presidency authority that will extend the majority of it into the next presidency,” said Lankford.
While respecting Lankford, Russell strongly disagrees about the timing of any trade deal negotiations.
“It is the president that was granted that authority that sets the parameters. For example, when we signed the U.S.-Korea agreement, KORUS, last year, all of that groundwork was laid by President Bush before he left office. So it does matter who the president is,” said Russell.
Another frustration for Russell is how supporters of TPA and TPP urge passage because it would “hedge” or “contain” China.
“This is dangerous rhetoric. It’s puts us very much at odds with our largest trading partner. Two, it has consequences when we do not have diplomatic and military efforts in tandem with economic efforts in a brand new region. China’s not our enemy and making rhetoric like this and using it for some trade venture could be very dangerous,” said Russell.
TPA and TPP supporters also cite China’s human rights record as a major reason to exclude it from the proposed deal with Asian countries. Russell says that is a valid concern but wonders why those same people have no problem including Vietnam and Brunei in the TPP.
The U.S. economy is still struggling to find traction. Revised numbers from the first quarter of 2015 show the Gross Domestic Product shrinking 0.7 percent. TPA backers say getting American goods into foreign markets is critical for economic growth and job creation. Russell says there’s plenty we can do to kickstart America’s economic engines.
“China needs oil and gas. We have plenty of it. Let’s get the export legislation over there. China needs asphalt for her roads. We have the raw materials. They need timber. They need beef. We have timber and cattle in abundance in this country,” said Russell.
“There are a number of things we could do. With four quadrillion cubic feet of natural gas, we could be sending that to Europe and also Asia. Start trading natural gas for Chinese debt, how about that one? There’s a number of things that we could immediately do and that the president is capable of authorizing in his tenure,” he said.
