Despite last minute pressure from President Obama
this morning, Democratic lawmakers voted
down Trade Adjustment Assistance, part of the package of bills necessary to
advance Trade Promotion Authority, which authorizes the administration to move
forward with the Trans-Pacific Partnership and other trade agreements.
Democrats voted against TAA, a measure long supported
by liberals to provide job training and other assistance to workers negatively
impacted by foreign trade, as a legislative maneuver to derail the effort to
pass TPA. Both bills must be passed together so that they may be merged with
the Senate version and sent to the president’s desk.
“If TAA slows down the fast track, I’m prepared to
vote against TAA,” said Democratic Leader Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.
The majority of Democrats joined a number of House
Republicans to sink the package. The roll call showed it going down 126-302.
“Today the allegedly unstoppable momentum of the
White House, GOP leadership and corporate coalition pushing Fast Track to
grease the path for adoption of the almost-completed, controversial
Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) deal just hit the immovable object called
transpartisan grassroots democracy,” Lori Wallach, the director of Public
Citizens’ Global Trade Watch, said in a statement.
After TAA failed, Republicans quickly brought up a
standalone trade promotion authority bill. The measure passed
by a two-vote margin. But observers note the vote was a test to see where
members stand. For a standalone trade promotion bill to advance on its own, the
Senate would have to take up the entire package again.
House Republican leaders have scheduled
another vote for TAA on Tuesday. Speaker of the House John Boehner and Obama
therefore have four days to persuade members of their parties to swallow
their objections to TAA and TPA, respectively.
(This post is from our blog: Unofficial
Sources.)
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