A key Senate committee approved legislation renewing Trade Promotion Authority Wednesday night, setting the stage for larger battle in the full Senate over international trade.
The legislation has scrambled the usual partisan lines in Washington, with President Obama relying on the support from congressional Republican leaders to fend off a rebellion from inside his own party.
The legislation was approved by the Senate Finance Committee by a 20-6 vote. The passage came after Democrats spent several hours trying to amend the legislation to blunt its impact. One by one the amendments were voted down. The legislation will now go to the full Senate for a vote.
“This is a good agreement. The administration has done a good job and it is well-thought out,” said Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, the committee’s chairman.
Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, who led the charge against the legislation by sponsoring the most of the amendments, urged his colleagues to reconsider prior to the vote. “Does this Congress want to rubber-stamp another Obama initiative?” he asked, prompting some mirthful comments from his GOP colleagues.
Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Kan., quipped that Republicans “felt bad” about not rubber-stamping previous Obama proposals and were trying make up for it.
Fast Track would prohibit Congress from amending trade deals, limiting it to a strict up or down vote on passage. The White House argues the legislation is needed to strengthen its hand in future trade negotiations. Without it, they cannot assure foreign leaders that any deal they strike won’t be picked apart by Congress.
Previous presidents from Gerald Ford to George W. Bush had versions of Trade Promotion Authority. The most recent version expired in 2007.
President Obama wants Congress to pass Fast Track before it brings the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a recently negotiated deal involving 12 Pacific Rim nations, to Congress for a vote.
More liberal Democrats fear the legislation will allow trade deals that hurt U.S. jobs and the environment. But the White House has pushed back hard, arguing that the legislation includes numerous protections and fought efforts by skeptical lawmakers lsuch as Brown to re-open the legislation.
When Brown began his effort Wednesday to amend the legislation, Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., a co-sponsor, pointed out that the administration itself had called for the committee to pass a clean version.
