House approves fast-track trade bill with little Alabama support
The House took the first of many steps toward reviving President Barack Obama‘s trade agenda Thursday, by narrowly passing controversial fast-track trade authority for the President. The 218-208 vote, with three of Alabama’s seven members voting yes, came less than a week after the trade legislation was quashed by the President’s own party. In last week’s vote, House GOP leadership paired the fast-track bill, Trade Promotion Authority (TPA), with a measure known as Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA), which gives aid to workers displaced by trade. Both measures needed to be approved in separate votes for the entire package to move forward. Thursday’s vote stripped the fast-track bill of the the worker assistance provisions while still granting the president fast-track authority to negotiate a massive, 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade deal. The bill now moves on to the Senate, where White House and GOP leaders are standing by, hoping to make a deal with pro-trade Democrats. Here’s a quick look at how the members of the Alabama Delegation voted and statements from their office: Representative Bradley Byrne (R – 01): Did not vote Representative Martha Roby (R – 02): Voted for TPA Representative Mike Rogers (R – 03): Voted for TPA Representative Robert Aderholt (R – 04): Voted against TPA Representative Mo Brooks (R – 05): Voted against TPA Representative Gary Palmer (R – 06): Voted against TPA Representative Terri A. Sewell (D – 07): Voted for TPA Roby: “There’s no question that trade supports jobs in Alabama, and it’s our responsibility to make sure trade agreements we enter into benefit American workers and serve our nation’s strategic global interests,” Rep. Roby said. “That’s why this Trade Promotion bill is important. It puts Congress in a much better position to ratify good multi-lateral trade agreements and to stop bad ones.” Sewell: “I continue to believe that President Obama should be given the same trade promotion authority as past Presidents. I trust that President Obama will do right by the American people, and the people of Alabama’s 7th Congressional District. President Obama has our backs, and we should have his. “President Obama has been unwavering in his support for promoting fair trade that protects American jobs and workers. I trust that President Obama will continue to protect the interests of the nation he has been elected to serve, and to uphold the values we hold dear. “I am deeply disappointed that Congress has yet to reauthorize the Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA). TAA is a vital lifeline for displaced workers that provides the needed resources for training, employment services, and relocation allowances. Globalization and automation — irrespective of trade agreements — have created a need for greater support services for workers who lost their jobs through no fault of their own. It is my hope that my colleagues will reconsider the TAA vote because I strongly believe that TPA and TAA go hand in hand.”
Bernie Sanders wants Hillary Clinton to take stand on trade deal
Sen. Bernie Sanders is questioning why Democratic presidential rival Hillary Rodman Clinton won’t take a stand on the emerging trade deal with Pacific nations, which he calls “enormously important issue” she’s been dodging. A day after launching his longshot campaign, the Vermont independent returned to neighboring New Hampshire on Wednesday, where a blunt voter told him she wants him to thrash Clinton in the primary race, not merely siphon some votes away from her. “Why can’t we ask Hillary to give up her spot and give it to you?” Jeanny Aldrich of Chesterfield demanded. “I could be wrong, but I suspect she would disagree with you,” Sanders quipped before saying he’s never run a negative campaign and won’t start now. Instead, he said, the campaign should feature civil debate on serious issues, like the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal that would eliminate tariffs and other barriers for the U.S., Canada and Asian countries conducting commerce with each other. Sanders opposes that agreement along with other past trade deals; Clinton has expressed qualms about it but hasn’t weighed in for or against it. “I think these trade agreements have not worked,” Sanders said. “Now, Hillary Clinton can be for the trade agreement — the president is. She can be against the trade agreement — I am, Elizabeth Warren, many others of us are. “But I just don’t know how you don’t have an opinion on this enormously important issue, which is her view. So what I think we need here in New Hampshire and around this country is a serious debate on serious issues.” Clinton’s campaign declined to comment when asked about Sanders’ remarks. During a recent visit to New Hampshire, Clinton said she didn’t yet know enough about the Asian-Pacific trade deal to say where she comes down on the issue. “I want to judge this when I see exactly what’s in it and whether it meets my standards,” Clinton said last week. Sanders, 73, said he is calling on liberals to join him in a “political revolution” to elevate attention to income inequality, a campaign finance overhaul and climate change — issues that have motivated Warren, the Massachusetts senator who appears to be sitting out the 2016 race despite intense interest from liberals in seeing her run. Sanders has long blasted the concentration of wealth in America and assailed a “billionaire class” that he says has taken over politics. “They obviously own much of the economy,” he said. “But what my campaign for president is about, is to say, we are not going to give up. We love this country too much to say that the billionaire class can have it all. We are going to fight back.” “They have the money, they have the power,” he said. “What do we have? We have the people. And when people stand together, we win.” Aldrich, the voter who questioned Sanders, said she doesn’t feel that Clinton represents voters on the left, or even the middle, of the political spectrum. “I think the Republicans are so far to the right, and I think the Clintons took the country way to the right,” she said. Republished with permission of The Associated Press.
Senate Democrats block action on president’s trade agenda
Senate Democrats dealt President Barack Obama a stinging setback on trade Tuesday, blocking efforts to begin a full-blown debate on his initiatives. The president’s supporters said they will try again, possibly starting in the House. But they were unable to sugar-coat a solid rebuke of a major Obama priority by members of his own party, some of whom served with him in the Senate. Only one Senate Democrat, Tom Carper of Delaware, voted for a GOP-crafted motion to start considering Obama’s request for “fast track” trade authority. Fast track would let the president present trade agreements that Congress could ratify or reject, but not amend. Proponents needed 60 votes to thwart a Democratic filibuster, but managed only 52 in the 100-member Senate. Tuesday’s vote highlighted the deep divide between Obama and the many congressional Democrats who say trade deals hurt U.S. jobs. Leading the fight against fast track are labor unions and liberal groups, which are crucial to many Democrats’ elections. Most Republican lawmakers support free-trade agreements. They were in the strange position Tuesday of losing a vote but seeing the Democratic president take the blame. “It is the president’s party,” said GOP Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah. “It’s amazing to me that they would do this to the president on a bill of this magnitude.” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky called the results “pretty shocking.” But Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson of Florida said, “Maybe what McConnell really wants to do is embarrass the president.” Several Democrats said Obama erred by pointedly criticizing a leading Democratic foe on trade, Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, in an interview with Yahoo News. Those Democrats said they bristled when Obama suggested Warren was poorly informed and politically motivated. Democratic senators said they also are tired of seeing the Democratic president cozy up to Republicans on trade. Most Republican lawmakers support trade agreements. But Obama must recruit a fair number of House and Senate Democrats to achieve his trade goals. Several Democrats say they will back fast track only if Republican leaders clear a path for three other trade measures. One, to renew the African Growth and Opportunity Act, is uncontroversial. The second calls for Trade Adjustment Assistance, which provides federal aid to workers displaced by trade agreements. Republicans don’t like it, but reluctantly acknowledge it’s the price for winning even modest Democratic support. The third bill, involving Customs enforcement, is the stickiest. It includes a measure to take actions against countries that keep their currency artificially low, which makes their exports more attractive. The Obama administration opposes the “currency manipulation” measure, saying it could invite international challenges to the Federal Reserve’s policies meant to boost the U.S. economy. McConnell said that only two of the bills — fast track and Trade Adjustment Assistance — would be the subject of initial votes, but senators would have ample chances to address the other two bills during the amendment process. Democrats met at midday and declared McConnell’s package unacceptable. Republished with permission of The Associated Press.
