House Republicans say they will vote Tuesday on a measure to delay action on a critical “Fast Track” trade package until the end of July, but that vote will likely rely on total cooperation in the House GOP, who got a stern lecture from House Speaker John Boehner Tuesday not to sink it.
Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., said he believes Republican lawmakers will provide enough support to pass the delay measure, which will be included in a resolution to advance an unrelated intelligence funding bill.
“We will” get it passed, McCarthy told the Washington Examiner. “We are just laying the options out there, to make sure we get trade done. This is not unusual. It’s ’til the end of July, so it keeps our options open.”
Republican leaders say they are relying on President Obama to round up Democratic support for the trade package, but so far the effort from the White House has backfired.
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Democrats on Friday blocked the bill by voting against a trade adjustment assistance provision, or TAA, that would have extended aid to workers displaced by new trade deals. It’s a measure Democrats normally support and Republicans typically oppose. The move has left the entire trade package stalled in the House, and under the current rules, lawmakers must act on the bill in some way by the end of Tuesday.
Boehner, R-Ohio, said Tuesday he has had “several conversations” with Obama about finding a path forward on the measure, which would provide the president with expedited powers to secure trade deals.
“No decisions have been made … there are a lot of options on the table,” he said.
Today’s vote to extend consideration of the trade package could fail, some Republicans fear, because dozens of conservatives who are opposed to the “Fast Track” bill could vote against it, as they did last Friday.
“Remember, we had 34 Republicans that voted against the rule and it could only pass because we had eight Democrats who voted for it,” House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton, R-Mich, told the Examiner.
In a closed-door meeting with rank-and-file Republicans on Tuesday, Boehner said he “made it pretty clear I was not very happy,” that 34 Republicans voted against advancing the trade bill on Friday, and he expects them to stay in line.
“We’ve worked hard to get the majority and we’ve worked hard to stay in the majority and I expect our team to act like a team,” Boehner said.
If President Obama cannot convince Democrats to pass TAA, Republicans could pass “Fast Track” as a stand-alone bill, which would require re-passage in the Senate and approval by Obama. But Senate Democrats and Obama are likely to object to “Fast Track” without TAA.
“I don’t think they have made any decisions,” Upton said. “They are all going to hard lifts.”
