Western Colorado Congress issued this statement in response to the Senate’s vote today to end debate on fast-track authority, clearing the way for an up-or-down vote on the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement (TPP):

“The whole thing is an outrage,” said Wink Davis on behalf of the Grand Junction-based Western Colorado Congress. “Fast Track amounts to an historic, and I think unconstitutional, delegation of Congressional authority. I’m particularly disappointed in Senator Bennet’s vote. We expect him to put the needs of real people ahead of the interests of corporations.”

Davis, who owns Mesa Winds Farm and Winery in Hotchkiss, noted that while the exact provisions of the TPP are being kept secret, leaked details suggest that the agreement would be a bad deal for the working people of western Colorado.

All indications are that the TPP would promote free trade at the expense of fair trade, and further increase the disproportionate power of international corporations, he said.

Of particular concern to Davis is that the deal would advance the interests of corporate mega-farms, disadvantaging small and mid-sized family operations. Providing consumer information about where and how our food is produced could also be considered “in restraint of trade,” undermining our domestic laws and our freedom of choice, he noted.