11 GOP Senators Urge President to Submit FTAs to Congress
On September 29, 2011, 11 Republican Senators1, including Senate Republican Leader McConnell (R-KY) and Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Hatch (R-UT), sent a letter to President Obama urging him to submit the pending trade agreements with Colombia, Panama, and South Korea to Congress for a vote.
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In the letter the Senators note that after the Senate passed the GSP/MPF/TAA bill (H.R. 2832), Speaker Boehner (R-OH) reiterated his commitment to consider TAA in tandem with legislation to implement the free trade agreements with Colombia, Panama and South Korea.
(The Senate Majority Leader had previously outlined a different plan that the one advocated by Speaker Boehner. The USTR has recently stated that discussions were continuing with congressional leadership on how the GSP/MPF/TAA and FTA implementing bills will move through the legislative process. See ITT’s Online Archives [11092611], for summary of the USTR’s remarks.)
The Senators state that the only thing that remains for the FTAs to be considered is for them to be submitted to Congress.
1Joining McConnell and Hatch on the letter to President Obama were Senators Grassley (R-IA), Kyl (R-AZ), Crapo (R-ID), Roberts (R-KS), Enzi (R-WY), Cornyn (R-TX), Coburn (R-OK), Thune (R-SD), and Burr (R-NC).