Business and advocacy groups on both sides of the trade debate lobbied lawmakers hard Thursday as the House leaders planned to hold a vote on Trade Promotion Authority, legislation intended to make it easier to pass big trade deals through Congress. It would be the second vote in a week on the legislation.
The conservative Club for Growth sent out an alert urging lawmakers to back the legislation. “There’s a lot of controversy surrounding the debate on TPA, but at the end of the day, it is a procedural device that we believe will advance the cause of freer trade and more economic growth,” said Andy Roth, the club’s vice president for government affairs.
The National Association of Manufacturers sent out a similar alert Thursday morning reiterating that it was making support for the bill, also known as “Fast Track,” a key vote in whether it considered in lawmakers supported the industry.
Trade Promotion Authority allows the president to submit trade deals to Congress for an up-or-down vote without amendments. It is seen as critical to passing the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a free-trade pact among 12 Pacific Rim nations.
On the other side of the debate, liberal groups urged Democrats not to be swayed by promises from the Republican leadership that they will have a separate vote on Trade Adjustment Assistance, legislation intended to benefit domestic industries and workers hurt by foreign competition.
“It’s downright absurd to trust Republicans who loathe Trade Adjustment Assistance to pass it, especially when hundreds of thousands of Americans will desperately need it when they lose their livelihood to the job-killing [Trans-Pacific Partnership]. Any Democrat in Congress who trusts [House Speaker] John Boehner or [Senate Majority Leader] Mitch McConnell to pass Trade Adjustment Assistance, that will actually help working families, deserves to lose their job,” said Jim Dean, chairman of Democracy for America.
The stance was echoed by Rick Manning, president of the conservative Americans for Limited Government in a Breitbart.com op-ed published Thursday. “Any Democrat making the assumption that the Republican-controlled Congress will allow the program to continue is engaging in a true act of blind faith.”
“Fast Track” narrowly passed the House Friday, but an effort to approve Trade Adjustment Assistance was defeated by a wide margin. That created a problem because the Senate version included Trade Adjustment Assistance. Without the provision in both bills a combined one could not be sent to President Obama’s office.
The House GOP leadership decided this week to hold a vote on a standalone “Fast Track” bill, which would then require the Senate to pass similar legislation.
