Question about Fast Track legislation

[Bob78164]

As I understand it, the Fast Track legislation that is on its way to the President's desk includes a provision that Congress must get the deal four months before it is voted on, and that the deal must be made public two months before it's voted on. (The only place I've seen this detail is in the New York Times. My hometown Los Angeles Times did not include it.) Does anyone know when that provision became part of the bill?

I ask because my opposition to Fast Track was based on an e-mail from Senator Warren highlighting the deal's secrecy. I'm wondering if that part of the bill was there when I received the e-mail, or if, instead, it was added to the bill in response to this criticism.

To be clear, I don't think two months is enough time and I do not understand why anyone thinks it's appropriate for the proposal's final language to be given to Congress two months before it's given to the public. But that's still a provision I'd have wanted to know about when forming my opinion and if it turns out it was there all along, I will likely contact her office to express my disappointment. --Bob

[jarnon]

Here's a White House post from April 16:
Bringing Trade Agreements into the 21st Century

when the agreement is inked, the text must be made publicly available online 60 days before the President signs any agreement

It's likely this provision was included in anticipation of, or in response to, criticism.

The post doesn't mention Congress getting the text of the agreement before the public, but I can see why that makes sense. Congressmen should have time to study the bill and get ready to respond to critics. Too often, the first news reports on the content of proposed legislation comes from opponents (Republicans on Obamacare, Bibi on the Iran deal), and the stories are biased and inaccurate.