Ronald Lee "Ron" Wyden, the senior senator for Oregon:

“I'm proud this bipartisan bill creates what I expect to be unprecedented transparency in trade negotiations, and ensures future trade deals break new ground to promote human rights, improve labor conditions, and safeguard the environment...”

The sole purpose of this bill, "trade promotion authority" (TPA), is to fast-track (meaning, de-democratize) massive trade deals, some of which are said to dwarf the famously sucky NAFTA. Only a fool would believe that such deals would improve human rights, the conditions for labor, and the sorry state of our environment. After all, the bread and butter for Republicans, many of whom support this bill, is precisely to be hostile to human rights, labor, and the environment. Why did they suddenly change with TPA?

Also, why do we need trade agreements in the first place? Why, really, should my shoes be made in Indonesia? What comparative advantage does that country have in shoe production? Why can't someone in Walla Walla (or Wallingford, for that matter) manufacture shoes and other things for this city's market? The truth is there's no real justification for much of what constitutes capitalist globalization. And it only takes a little logic to make it apparent to all that a serious reduction in world trade would actually do much more to "safeguard the environment" than its opposite, a sharp increase.