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| US President Barack Obama departs after meeting with Democratic House members at the US Capitol in Washington on June 12, 2015. (Reuters Photo/Jonathan Ernst) |
Washington. A raging battle over US President Barack
Obama’s request for “fast-track” authority central to improving US ties
with Asia resumes in the House of Representatives next week when
lawmakers are expected to try to reverse Friday’s defeat of linchpin
trade legislation.
House Democrats disregarded Obama’s personal pleas and teamed up with
Republicans, for different reasons, to overwhelmingly defeat a program
that helps American workers who lose their jobs as a result of trade
deals.
Supporters were heartened, however, when the House narrowly approved a
separate measure to give Obama “fast-track” authority to negotiate the
Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade deal. But the legislation is stuck
in the House because of the defeat Obama and House Speaker John Boehner
suffered on the first vote.
Both measures are included in one bill and both need to be approved before the legislation can clear the House.
A House Republican aide told reporters Republican leaders hope to
stage a vote again Tuesday to pass the worker aid portion of the bill.
That would allow the entire bill to be signed into law by Obama, but its
chances were unclear.
Obama, who made a last-ditch personal appeal to congressional
Democrats to support the worker aid program, urged lawmakers to get
behind the twin initiatives.
“New trade agreements should go hand in hand with support to American
workers who’ve been harmed by trade in the past,” he said in a
statement, noting the program helps about 100,000 workers per year.
Republican Steve Scalise, a member of the House leadership team, said
the president had to work with recalcitrant Democrats to get the
numbers for the program.
“They took a hostage that they might realize now they can’t afford to shoot,” he said.
The worker aid program, which expires in September, drew heavy
opposition from both parties, with 158 Republicans joining 144 Democrats
in voting “no.” The overall vote was 302-126 against.
Trading partners such as Japan have urged the US Congress to pass
fast-track to help wrap up a Pacific Rim trade deal covering 40 percent
of the world’s economy.
Personal plea falls flat
Hours before lawmakers were due to vote on the legislation, Obama
arrived at Capitol Hill with Labor Secretary Thomas Perez for the
culmination of a short but intense blitz to counter union efforts to use
the worker support program to kill fast-track.
The AFL-CIO, the country’s largest labor organization, claimed that funding for the worker aid program would be insufficient.
But it also rallied support for its cause by arguing that a vote
against worker aid would be the perfect tactic for stopping fast track.
Fast-track authority would let lawmakers set negotiating objectives
for trade deals, but restrict them to only a yes-or-no vote on the
finished agreement.
Many Democrats worry that giving Obama fast-track authority to finish
the TPP would result in job losses in their home districts just as the
United States makes economic gains that have led to a brightening jobs
picture nationally.
Boehner, the top Republican, in consultation with House Democratic
leader Nancy Pelosi – who voted against the worker program – is expected
to weigh next steps.
A House Republican leadership aide said that leading up to Tuesday,
when another vote could occur, Obama had to speak to Pelosi and House
Democrats to get them on board.
“They have the weekend” to build support for the worker aid program
and allow the whole bill to be signed into law, said the aide, who also
left open the possibility of searching for additional Republican votes.
But a House Democratic aide said it was unlikely that anything would
transpire between Friday and Tuesday to get Pelosi’s vote, or the votes
of many more Democrats.
Meanwhile, Pelosi sent a letter to fellow Democrats saying that
prospects for passing a fast-track trade bill “will greatly increase” if
Congress were to pass a “robust” bill authorizing highway construction
projects, which expire at the end of July.
Those road, bridge and mass transit projects are chock full of good-paying union jobs repairing crumbling infrastructure.
Pelosi also demanded stronger protections in the trade legislation
for workers and the environment, which are not easy to craft in the few
days leading to Tuesday’s vote.
The Senate, in a strong bipartisan vote, has already approved the
package of trade measures, which includes a customs enforcement bill.
That piece of the puzzle passed the House too, but with provisions
which upset many Democrats, for example on giving countries deemed soft
on human trafficking a way to still participate in fast-tracked trade
deals.
Differences will have to be ironed out in a joint meeting of House and Senate negotiators.
Reuters
By Krista Hughes & Richard Cowan on 06:11 am Jun 13, 2015
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