House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said Thursday that even though Democrats have made a deal allowing them to support a displaced worker aid program that’s part of a trade package supported by President Obama, Democrats still have the power to block those trade bills, and some might decide to try.
Pelosi helped work out a deal to use revenue from enhanced tax law enforcement, instead of Medicare money, to pay for a program to help workers who are displaced by international trade pacts. She told reporters she’s “pleased” by the deal on Trade Adjustment Assistance, or TAA, that was reached with Republicans late Wednesday.
The House is expected to vote on TAA before holding a vote on trade promotion authority, or TPA, which would let President Obama to expedite new trade deals and limit the ability of Congress to block or amend the agreements. But passage of TPA hinges on passage of TAA, since TPA could lose the Democratic support it needs to pass if the trade assistance program isn’t passed first.
Pelosi acknowledged on Thursday that because of this linkage, any Democrat that strongly opposes TPA could decide to oppose the trade assistance bill, in an effort to kill TPA.
“It does empower us in that regard,” Pelosi said, adding the “opportunity does exist” for Democrats to block the TPA they oppose by simply voting against the TAA bill.
Many Democrats are staunchly opposed to TPA and could try to defeat TAA in order to block it. Democratic opposition to new trade deals has been building steadily in recent years, and many in the party believe the deals have resulted in job loss and economic damage, particularly in manufacturing states.
Pelosi said Democrats feel empowered enough to push the GOP for another change, one that would enable public sector workers to qualify for assistance under the bill.
“That is one piece of unfinished business that we are working on,” Pelosi said Thursday. “We are hopeful that we can make that change.” But House Speaker John Boehner signaled Thursday that no further changes would be made to the legislation to accommodate Democrats.
“We have addressed all of the substantive and procedural concerns that [Pelosi] has raised and I’m hopeful that Democrats will do their part in helping get this over the line in the next day and a half,” he said.
The uncertainty about the Democratic vote means it’s still not clear if the trade bills can pass, even as Republicans were preparing to move the first of four bills to the floor on Thursday. Even a few Democratic votes could be critical to the passage of the trade package.
The vote on TPA is likely to be very close, with as many as 30 Republicans unwilling to back it because they do not want to extend further executive authority to President Obama, who they believe has already overstepped his powers by attempting to make changes in immigration policy.
Only about 18 Democrats are expected to back the TPA bill. That means even if the TAA bill passes, Republicans would mostly be responsible for passing TPA.
