This week, Democrats in the U.S. Senate blocked a proposal to “fast track” President Obama’s Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (“TPP”). I, for one, am glad that they did. Much has been said about the merits of these regional trade agreements, and there are pros and cons, which need to be considered and debated. However, engaging in that consideration and debate is premature. The terms of TPP are not known and we simply cannot effectively give the executive branch the ability to tie our hands to terms we do not know. Our representative system of government is not intended to be conducted in secret, and the TPP should be subject to customary Congressional oversight.

At the outset, let’s understand what, exactly, is being requested with this fast-track authority. In effect, it would take Congress largely out of the process. The executive branch would have free rein to negotiate the TPP without Congressional oversight during the process. Congress would only have a 90-day period after the TPP is finalized to cast an up-or-down vote on the entire package, without any ability to change specific provisions.

Fast track is generally not a good idea except in cases where there might be a need for secrecy, such as those involving national security. If an agreement such as TPP is a good idea, then it should be able to withstand careful and considered scrutiny along the way. When I ran for the U.S. Congress to represent the people of Colorado’s Second Congressional District, I was a passionate advocate of government in the sunshine — where the workings of our government and the activities of our elected officials are transparent to the people they represent. Fast track represents the polar opposite of that transparency and instead allows for secret deals to be negotiated, with ensuing impacts coming as a surprise to the people who are affected. We need more government accountability and accessibility, not less.

TPP may be a good idea, but then again, it may not. And that is the point. There are strong arguments on both sides, but we cannot fully debate those arguments until we know what is being proposed. We can do so as the terms of TPP become known, and we should. This week’s vote was not a referendum on the merits of TPP; instead, it was a vote on whether fast-track authority would be granted. It was a vote on how our government should operate and, more broadly, a reaffirmation of the oversight role of Congress. There is no sufficient reason why Congress should not perform its usual function in this case and report back to the people whom they represent. Let’s keep government in the sunshine. The people and our Constitution demand no less. — George Leing is a lawyer from Niwot, and was the Republican nominee for Colorado’s 2nd Congressional District in 2014.