Pat Toomey's Anti-TPP Stance is All About Political Cover, Not Support for Working Families

Any Pennsylvania voters wondering whether Senator Pat Toomey's (R-PA) newfound opposition to the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade deal was a deeply held belief or an empty attempt to help his re-election campaign got a pretty straight answer from Toomey himself recently. In an interview with the Philadelphia Inquirer editorial board, Sen. Toomey admitted that while he currently opposes TPP, he is "open to reconsidering" the TPP at some point in the future.

The news, given Sen. Toomey's vote in support of fast tracking the TPP and past vocal support for the TPP, isn’t surprising. "This is more evidence that Pat Toomey's anti-TPP stance is all about political cover, not authentic opposition to this bad trade deal," said Ed Mooney, CWA Vice President, District 2-13. "Unless and until Senator Toomey can confirm that he plans to vote against the TPP in a lame duck and in any other future legislative session, we will put his anti-TPP stance in the category of political posturing where it belongs."

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Iowans Rally to Stop TPP

Iowa activists made a strong showing at an anti-TPP rally in Davenport sponsored by the Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement. They were joined by Our Revolution Board Chair and former CWA President Larry Cohen and Steve Abbott, president of CWA’s Iowa State Council.

Abbott noted that the TPP agreement is 5,500 pages long, and said the public wasn't informed about it for five years. "I am scared to death about the TPP," he said.

Our Revolution is the group launched in the wake of the Bernie Sanders campaign with the goal of turning the presidential campaign into a long-term progressive movement that focuses on issues like opposing the TPP, making college affordable, providing healthcare for all, and raising the minimum wage to $15. Learn more and get involved here.

Read more about the Iowa rally here.