Senate Democrats

The Trans-Pacific Partnership has long been the boogeyman hiding under America's bed. The TPP, which was written to favor corporations over local domestic law with deregulations, was kept at bay by Democrats in the Senate. Unfortunately, something happened last week that significantly hurt those Dems' ability to fight the international "trade agreement" boogeyman.

Democrats controlling the Senate proposed Tuesday to avoid future showdowns over the so-called debt ceiling by giving the president authority to authorize additional federal borrowing unless Congress can muster veto-proof margins to block him.

Senate Democrats are drafting legislation to raise the nation's debt limit without the type of unrelated conditions that Republicans have said they intend to demand, officials said Monday, as the White House signaled it would accept even a brief extension in borrowing authority to prevent an unprecedented default. Republicans have said they will seek long-term deficit cuts or reforms to benefit programs and perhaps a wholesale rollback in environmental rules as the price for raising the current $16.7 trillion debt limit.