RNs: Fast Track, Trade Deals Jeopardize Public Health, Democracy
Capitol Hill Press Conference Thursday, 12 Noon

Dozens of registered nurses from around the U.S. will join Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT), for a news conference Thursday to oppose “fast track” authority for the secretive Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations that nurses say pose a significant threat to public health and democracy.

WHAT: Press Conference with Registered Nurses, Rep. Rosa DeLauro
WHEN: 12 noon EST
WHERE: Room B-338 of the Rayburn House Office Building, Capitol Hill

Watch the recorded press conference here

In addition to the press conference, the nurses, members of National Nurses United, the largest U.S. organization of nurses, will visit Congressional lawmakers Thursday to also encourage their opposition to both Fast Track and the TPP.  
 
A bill granting Fast Track authority is expected to be introduced as soon as next week. Such authority is designed to limit public scrutiny, to limit congress’s ability to debate and amend the negotiated text, and gives up Congressional constitutional authority to carefully review the TPP and make changes if necessary to protect American workers and consumers. The proposed TPP agreement would have a devastating impact on American jobs and wages, as well as access to medicine.
 
The TPP is a massive, trade pact between the U.S. and 11 other countries which has been negotiated in secret.
 
NNU warns that the TPP, if approved, would give corporations the legal authority to override laws and regulatory standards in the U.S. and other nations meant to protect patients, health workers and consumers.  
 
By requiring Congress to surrender its authority to amend trade deals, “fast track is a slippery slope toward weakening American democracy while hastening enactment of trade agreements that would expose Americans and residents of other nations to a dangerous attack on their health,” said NNU Co-President Deborah Burger, RN.
 
“It means that corporate executives, both U.S. and foreign based, will have the final say on determining how much we pay for life-saving medicines, how safe is our food, and whether we can limit industrial pollution, toxic spills and other environmental health hazards,” said Burger.