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Celebration Day at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce? A Debate on Who Benefits from the TPP
"Democracy Now!" airs weekdays at 9 a.m. PT on KCET.
The Senate is expected to vote today to give President Obama "fast-track" trade negotiating authority to speed up new trade deals, including the TPP, the Trans-Pacific Partnership.
The secretive TPP deal involves 12 countries and nearly 40 percent of the global economy. On Tuesday, the Senate voted 60 to 37 to end debate on the measure, setting up today's final vote. President Obama has made the TPP one of his top priorities in his final term, aligning himself with the Republican leadership despite strong opposition to the deal from some of his traditional allies, including labor unions, environmentalists, and consumer groups. In the end, 13 Democrats sided with Republicans to give Obama the fast-track authority. "Democracy Now!" hosts a debate between Robert Weissman, president of Public Citizen, and Bill Watson, trade policy analyst at the Cato Institute.