I am starting this petition because I believe there should be transparency in this trade agreement between the US and 11 other countries. The Clinton administration gave us NAFTA which harmed the American worker, resulted in job losses, and now Obama is set to force this one through. Details on it are very scarce because the benefits to the people are said to be purely coincidental, if any. It's essentially being written by corporations so they can overrule existing local and national laws to maximize their profits. It is said that it will degrade environmental protection standards, workplace safety standards, strengthen instead of thoughtfully reform copyright and patent laws that slow innovation and progress, instate certain surveillance and law enforcement regulations along with certain internet freedom and openness restrictions proposed in SOPA and ACTA, and even make prescription drugs more expensive by extending the patent terms. We need more, not less protections for this planet and it's inhabitants. We deserve to not only know about but have a say in something that is in one way or another going to have a long reaching effect on our lives.

Our Congress is acting like a warmonger and not allowing diplomacy to fix U.S./Iran relationship. The U.S. needs to stop settling things with wars. The Afghanistan and Iraq wars have left our country economically devastated, and the countries of Afghanistan and Iraq completely devastated. Obviously, war was the wrong choice for our dead soldiers and the people of Afghanistan and Iraq.

I have been closely following what little is being leaked and reading reports about the super-secret Trans Pacific Partnership and Transatlantic Free Trade Area. I have participated in a national coalition of interested citizens groups. I am adamantly against Fast Track of TPP and, of course, the TPP itself, as well as the TAFTA free trade agreement. I fear the loss of sovereignty of our governmental structures from bottom to top to multinational Corporations. We stand close to losing not only of our governmental sovereignty, but also of the very soul of our country and the ruin of our beautiful blue planet. This cannot be allowed to be perpetrated. In order to get this through Congress, President Obama will be asking Congress to approve Fast Track legislation. We urge mayors across Texas to oppose this power grab, and Texas' senators and representatives in Congress must vote NO on Fast Track legislation.

It began with a phone call between President Obama and President Rouhani of Iran. Now it looks like we may be on the brink of a diplomatic breakthrough with what some had called the 'deal of a century.' But that could all be in jeopardy if some supporters of war with Iran get their way. They're trying to pass a senate resolution that would increase sanctions on Iran*. That would tie President Obama's hands and prevent him from being able to move forward with meaningful negotiations. President Obama is pursuing diplomacy and considering reducing sanctions on Iran. Getting to this point hasn't been an easy road. The President has faced pressure from conservative lobby groups and members of his own party to take a harder line on Iran. It's crucial for us to visibly support the President to show that the political space to pursue diplomacy with Iran exists. If we can show that diplomacy is met with widespread support—we'll be able to pave the way for success. But if we are silent, conservative lobby groups will frame and undermine the deal. The President isn’t perfect - we all know that. However, at the moment he is pursuing diplomacy and considering reducing sanctions on Iran. It’s crucial for us to visibly support the President to show that the political space to pursue diplomacy with Iran exists. Many conservatives in Iran argue that talking to the United States is futile. President Rouhani has bet much of his political capital on these talks. By creating a strong groundswell of public support for diplomacy we can also show solidarity with the Iranian people who elected Rouhani with a mandate to improve relations with the United States. *Senate panel will move ahead on new sanctions, Reuters. *West and Iran seen as nearing a nuclear deal, The New York times

The Administration has claimed that its drone strikes in Pakistan and Yemen are legal under U.S. law, but it has never shared with Congress or the American people all of its legal memos purportedly giving legal justification for the policy. The Administration has also not told Congress or the American people who we are at war with - which groups the Administration claims it has the authority to target with drone strikes under U.S. law. By introducing legislation to compel the Administration to share this information with Congress and the public, Representative Conyers will give Americans concerned about the drone strike policy a way to engage Members of Congress on the issue.

The Obama Administration is trying to get an agreement with the government of Afghanistan that would keep thousands of U.S. troops there after 2014, constantly exposed to mortal danger. No U.S. commitment to keep thousands of U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan beyond 2014 should be allowed without prior Congressional debate and authorization, consistent with the Congressional role in making decisions about war envisioned by the Constitution and the War Powers Resolution. Congress didn’t allow the Administration to bomb Syria without Congressional authorization; Congress shouldn’t allow the Administration to keep thousands of U.S. troops in Afghanistan without Congressional authorization. Urge President Obama to go to Congress for explicit approval before making any commitment to keep thousands of U.S. troops in Afghanistan, and urge Congress to insist on a Congressional debate and vote before any such commitment takes place.

Earlier this year, it looked as if we were on a collision course with Iran over its nuclear ambitions, but with the recent elections a few months ago, and a new president (Rouhani) and negotiating team expressing willingness to reach out to the U.S., we have what may be a rare opportunity to pursue diplomacy, possibly even improve relations and remove the threat of war. Just as this opportunity arises, many members of Congress (both Democrats and Republicans), being somewhat secretly and unduly influenced by AIPAC and paranoid Israeli warmongers, also Saudi Arabia, are attempting to torpedo the negotiations while they are barely getting started, passing bills calling for more crippling sanctions, and even calling for the use of military force (see bills by Sen. Lindsey Graham and Rep. Trent Franks). Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and members of Congress echoing him make statements that Rouhani is lying, trying to con us with a charm offensive, when they have no evidence to back up their claims; in fact, numerous reports from U.S. top military officials show that Iran has not yet even made a decision to weaponize or enrich uranium above 20%. Most of mainstream media goes in lockstep with Israeli warmongers and their friends in Congress who sell out to them, and reports overly alarmist propaganda, or outright lies and distortions about Iran's nuke program. It is time for this madness to stop. Congress needs to be asked the tough questions about the potential Iran conflict they are attempting to instigate and come clean with the American public about the sacrifices that will be necessary if we do go to war. Prepare for a massive disruption in oil supplies worse than the 1973 OPEC oil embargo, and our economy being in much worse shape than it was even at its lowest point in 2008; be ready for mass casualties worse than Iraq and Afghanistan combined, and given how our military is stretched thin with the two conflicts we are winding down right now, and actually stopping the Iranian nuclear program by force would require a massive ground war and occupation of the country, I don't see how we can pull this off without reinstituting the military draft. So to members of Congress, if you won't give diplomacy a chance, I hope you will at least have the guts to tell the American people honestly what to expect and prepare for, before we get into this conflict, and allow us to give our input as to whether this is really worth it, especially since, for many of us, our lives or our children's lives may be on the line.

The Administration has claimed that its drone strikes in Pakistan and Yemen are legal under U.S. law, but it has never shared with Congress or the American people all of its legal memos purportedly giving legal justification for the policy. The Administration has also not told Congress or the American people who we are at war with - which groups the Administration claims it has the authority to target with drone strikes under U.S. law. By introducing legislation to compel the Administration to share this information with Congress and the public, Senator Paul will give Americans concerned about the drone strike policy a way to engage Members of Congress on the issue.

For three years, a group of some 600 multinational corporations and trade associations have been quietly negotiating a trade pact IN SECRET that could void American laws that protect workers, jobs, health, and the environment. During negotiations here last summer, news leaked of some of the provisions U.S. trade officials were prepared to approve, and a public outcry derailed the talks. Trade Representative Ron Kirk resigned. Now that Michael Froman has been confirmed as the new U.S. Trade Representative he is pushing to renew "fast track" authority so President Obama can sign the agreement first, and then force a quick vote in Congress without any public scrutiny, floor debate, or revisions. Rep. Keith Ellison has called TPP "the largest corporate power grab you've never heard of." Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, is one of just four U.S. Senators who voted against Froman's confirmation this summer. She said of TPP, “I have heard the argument that transparency would undermine the Trade Representative’s policy to complete the trade agreement because public opposition would be significant.” Warren explained, “In other words, if people knew what was going on, they would stop it. This argument is exactly backwards. If transparency would lead to widespread public opposition to a trade agreement, then that trade agreement should not be the policy of the United States.” The only TPP language made public was leaked in 2012 and shared by Public Citizen. Since then trade officials have kept a tight lid on the negotiations, only recently allowing members of Congress to view (not copy) the text, which remains "classified." Among the most disturbing revelations in last year's leaked TPP language, that seems to be mirrored in the Atlantic version as well: Foreign companies would have "preferred status" – granting them greater rights within our borders than our own companies enjoy. U.S. companies would have more incentives to offshore jobs, and foreign companies would not be bound by the minimum wage and could sue the U.S. if our health, safety, or environmental regulations interfered with their profits. Jurisdiction over such suits would rest not in the hands of elected officials or judges, but with an international business tribunal. Their decisions, which would be binding upon all member nations, would supersede our own laws – including our Constitution.

In October 2012, 8-year-old Nabeela ventured out with her grandmother Mamana Bibi to do daily chores in their family's large, open field. Moments later, Mamana was blasted into pieces by a US drone strike that appears to have been aimed directly at her. Amnesty International did not find any evidence she was endangering anyone, let alone posing an imminent threat to the US. Yet a year has passed and the US government has not acknowledged Mamana Bibi's death, let alone provided justice or compensation for it. We can't bring back Mamana Bibi but, through a process of accountability, we can stop the US government from committing unlawful killings with impunity.

The UN election for China to an influential Human Rights Council seat takes place on November 12th, 2013. This seat would cement China's ability to control the direction and priorities of international human rights activity. China's pervasive contempt for human rights is well-documented by UN monitors, human rights organizations, and the US State Department. Chinese prisons hold tens of thousands of dissidents persecuted for their faith, ethnicity, or political beliefs, including Nobel Peace Prize laureate Liu Xiaobo. For decades, China has impeded worldwide efforts by the United States to effectively monitor or reduce human rights abuses in UN member states. The United States cannot allow China to gain a world leadership position on human rights. By voting NO, we will be taking a stand for not just our own values, but the basic rights of millions worldwide protected by the Human Rights Council.

Fast Track is a procedural trick created by Nixon in 1974, to by-pass the Constitutional provision in Article 1-8, which states that “Congress shall have the power to regulate Commerce with foreign nations.” Fast track erases the representative power vested in Congress to debate bills on their merits, or amend, and instead, cedes this power to the president. Both so-called free trade agreements, TPP, and TTIP, undermine United States sovereignty by creating binding agreements set by some 600 trans-national corporate advisors, and would nullify many of our laws that protect citizens, consumers, and the environment, if these very laws stand in the way of projected corporate profits. Corporations are suing today in anticipation of setting precedents on cases ranging from drug patent extensions, which would eliminate affordable generics, suing over countries banning a pesticide that kills bees, to suing over product labeling of GMOs. Every area where a corporation will earn less, will be on the chopping block, among them, labor rights, and minimum wage requirements, patent and copyright issues, food safety, product safety standards, clean air and water, buy American procurement policies, healthcare, energy, internet freedoms, and service sector regulations. TPP and TTIP, sweeping Free Trade Agreements, while having been negotiated in secret for three years, will, if passed into trade law, do extreme damage to the citizens of this country. We already know from experience, the damage free trade agreements like NAFTA have caused: mass shutdowns of U.S. manufacturing, soaring unemployment, deep decreases in wages, huge budget deficits, enormous trade deficits, and increased immigration rates, among many other negative impacts. With so very much at stake for the citizens of this country, shouldn’t we openly debate the bill on its merits, and amend, instead of limiting floor debate to 20 hours and only an up or down vote? Fast Track is outdated, and there is no reason to subject the citizens of this country, and your district to such an onerous procedure that severely limits representative government, handing it instead to “foreign and corporate advisors.” Representative Castor, please vote against fast track, and in favor of government of, by, and for the people.