Senate Finance Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley held a mark-up hearing today to review the USMCA and vote the agreement out of committee. After debate the agreement passed with a 25-3 vote. Pat Toomey (R-PA), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), and Bill Cassidy (R-LA) voted against the agreement (full hearing video below)

The USMCA is now sent to the full Senate for a vote this month; however, it is interesting to hear the reasons why Toomey, Cassidy and Whitehouse oppose it.

Senator Whitehouse (D) opposes USMCA because it doesn’t address climate change and have the provisions within it to support the Paris Climate Treaty. Senators Toomey (R) and Cassidy oppose USMCA because it is not friendly to the Wall Street multinationals.

Senator Toomey doesn’t like that the Senate cannot change the USMCA to make it more favorable to the Wall Street multinationals who are invested heavily in China. Toomey, speaking on behalf of several, noted the Trans-Pacific-Partnership (TPP) is a better trade construct. Quite a remarkable mask-dropping was visible during the hearing.

Obviously, the Senate is the epicenter of the Decepticon coalition. The Decepticons are U.S. Senators who focus exclusively toward the construction of legislation, policy and economic issues that benefit large U.S. Wall Street multinational corporations. The USMCA is adverse to those interests as it focuses maximum value to those business entities who are invested in a North American manufacturing and production economy.

(VIA CNBC) […] The agreement has also split up the 2020 Democratic presidential field. Former Vice President Joe Biden backs it. While Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., has indicated she will support the deal revised to include Democratic changes, Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., has opposed the pact. Mexico has ratified the trade agreement. Canada may not approve it until later this month. The agreement does not take effect until all three nations ratify it. The U.S. exports more goods to Canada and Mexico than any other countries. Trump’s impeachment could complicate the Senate’s efforts to pass the deal. After House Speaker Nancy Pelosi sends House-passed articles of impeachment to the Senate, the chamber will start a trial on whether to remove him from office. The speaker has not pushed impeachment to the other side of the Capitol as Democrats pressure Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to call witnesses. Without a trial, the Senate has more flexibility to quickly pass USMCA. “If it can be brought up before the impeachment vote, it’d be very important to get this — the sooner it gets done, for the good of the economy, the better,” Grassley told reporters after the committee voted for USMCA. He noted that impeachment would have to take priority over other matters if it comes before the Senate. (read more)