The House Thursday revived a stalled “Fast Track” trade bill after cutting a deal with President Obama that circumvented major Democratic opposition.
But the bill’s path to becoming law is still uncertain as Democrats may still move to block it later.
House lawmakers voted 218-208 to approve the trade promotion authority act, sending it to the Senate where a bipartisan coalition of lawmakers are working on a deal to pass it and send it to Obama’s desk. Twenty-eight Democrats joined 190 Republicans to pass it.
Senate lawmakers must first come up with a way to pass not only TPA, but a second piece of legislation that would extend a program to provide aid and training to workers displaced by new trade deals.
Republicans are planning to attach the Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) act to the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), a measure providing trade preference status to some African nations. The House would then vote on the AGOA bill, and Obama would sign into law both the “Fast Track” legislation and the AGOA and TAA provisions at the same time.
Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., told reporters Wednesday signing the measures at the same time is the only scenario that would win over enough Senate Democrats to pass TPA.
But House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., signaled Thursday that attaching the trade assistance to the AGOA would not win Democratic support. “I don’t see a path for TAA right now,” Pelosi told reporters.
Democrats, during debate on the bill, were threatening to withhold support for the AGOA measure that passed earlier in an overwhelming bipartisan vote. With TAA attached, it may be difficult to pass it with mostly Republicans, since many GOP lawmakers don’t support the program.
As a result, Republicans may have to come up with another plan that can stave off staunch Democratic opposition in the House.
House Democratic lawmakers Thursday argued against the TPA measure. The bill would give Obama the power to secure expedited trade deals with only an up or down vote of Congress. No amendments or changes to proposed trade pacts would be permitted.
Opposition to the TPA bill has been fueled by a pending trade deal with 11 Pacific Rim nations. The half-completed agreement is accessible to lawmakers, but they can’t take copies or notes with them and must view it in a secret room in the Capitol.
“It should be considered as a treaty,” Rep. Marcy Kaptur, D-Ohio, said. “Openly read by the Senate, and it should be amended and fully vetted.”
Rep. David Scott, D-Ga., whose district suffered from the loss of manufacturing jobs, said congressional offices have been flooded by calls from people opposed to the “Fast Track” trade bill.
“They are begging and pleading with us to please vote down this bill,” Scott said. “Who knows better than the American people who live in the towns and cities where they have seen their manufacturing plants close and they have seen their jobs shipped overseas. Every trade deal has done it.”
Republicans and Democrats backing the trade deal made the opposite argument, and said “Fast Track” authority would help create new jobs by opening up new markets overseas to American goods.
“There is no way American can compete in the global economy without a strong trade agreement,” Rep. Mike Kelly, R-Pa., said. “It puts America back on the track to economic prosperity.”
