Froman's Hill Trade Hearings Buffeted By Protests

At the U.S. Senate Finance Committee hearing on the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal, ordinary citizens and activists stood up and voiced their concerns.

Froman had barely launched into his presentation to the U.S. Senate Finance Committee in the morning when a woman in the audience – holding aloft a sign that said "They Are Trading Away Our Future" – rose to speak.

Activists protested at a U.S. Senate Finance Committee hearing as U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman testified.

"Ambassador Froman, you're not telling the American people the truth," she said. "We know the Trans-Pacific Partnership has been negotiated in secret. You're trying to rush it through Congress with Fast Track because it is secret. You're going to offshore our jobs and lower our wages."

The secrecy complaint followed Froman to a House Ways and Means Committee hearing later in the day. Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-TX) complained that staff with security clearance to see documents on the Islamic State cannot see trade proposals from TPP members. "That's not practicing transparency. That's practicing secrecy," he said.

Senate Finance Committee Chair Orin Hatch (R-UT) earlier lauded Froman and even, strangely, exhorted him to fight for TPA before completing the TPP negotiations. "Let's have order," a worried Hatch now said as the woman spoke. "Remove this person."

But the woman, with Capitol Hill security staff bum-rushing her out of the hearing room, kept up her patter: "They are not going to allow us to protect our communities; they're not going to allow us to protect our workers. The American people are against Fast Track. No secret trade deals."

Others took up her cry. A man who rose to unfurl a banner saying "TPP Fast Track a Job Killing Act" said as security wrestled him too out of the hearing room: "We believe in democracy, not secrecy."

"We say stop Fast Track; no TPP," one person said.

"We don't want supersize NAFTA," replied another.

"Remove these people," an exasperated Hatch said.

Sitting quietly behind Froman, over his right shoulder, a person held up a sign saying "Fast Track Constitutional Train Wreck."

Hatch instructed security to confiscate that sign, too.

"Let's not have any more of that," he said.