Lawmakers Scramble to Wrap Up Trade Before Recess, Amendment Deal Still Unclear
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., renewed his pledge to complete debate on Trade Promotion Authority and Trade Adjustment Assistance soon in remarks on May 22, and the Senate is gearing up to vote on a range of amendments and potentially final passage of the bills in the coming hours. Lawmakers still haven’t agreed on the specific amendments due for a vote, however, said McConnell. The chamber approved the day before a critical procedural step to pave the way for votes on amendments and the underlying bills (see 1505200047).
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McConnell applauded the bipartisan endorsement of that procedural step. Thirteen Democrats voted in favor, while five Republicans opposed. “We want to process as many amendments as we can,” said McConnell from the Senate floor. “My hope is that, with some cooperation from across the aisle, we can vote on some amendments today and complete our work on this trade legislation.” McConnell also vowed to pass infrastructure and surveillance legislation before the chamber departs Washington for Memorial Day recess. The Senate still can complete all that legislative work by the “afternoon” of May 22, he said. His office hadn't scheduled any votes when International Trade Today went to press.
The wrangling over amendments continued through May 21 and into the morning of May 22, said lawmakers. As of May 21, Senate Democratic leadership said there were nine amendments poised for votes before final passage. Those include an amendment to purge TAA, which is currently combined with TPA in the legislation, completely from the package and another to prohibit use of TPA for agreements with investor-state dispute settlement. Another amendment would remove a controversial currency manipulation measure, spearheaded by Sens. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, and Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich that would direct U.S. negotiators to subject currency to dispute settlement in U.S. free trade agreements.
White House Spokesman Josh Earnest, speaking in a May 21 press briefing, again said President Barack Obama would veto any legislation that contained that currency language. Finance Chairman Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, blasted the amendment on the Senate floor on May 22, after issuing similar criticisms over recent days. “The Portman-Stabenow amendment would derail the Trans-Pacific Partnership. Once again, we know that this is the case,” said Hatch. “None of our negotiating partners would sign a trade agreement that included the kinds of rules mandated by the Portman-Stabenow Amendment. We’ve already heard from countries like Japan that they would walk away from the agreement if the U.S. started making these types of demands.”
Hatch, along with Finance ranking member Ron Wyden, D-Ore., have pushed lawmakers to instead support their alternate currency amendment. That measure strengthens currency language already in TPA, but only calls for U.S. negotiators to “seek to establish” ways to tackle manipulation.
Lawmakers also continued on May 22 to press for votes on amendments not already in the pipeline on the Senate floor. Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., said on Twitter he was still pressuring leadership to hold a vote on a Buy America amendment. According to Democratic leadership, Hatch tried to roll together a number of amendments, including the enforcement provision dubbed the Leveling the Playing Field Act and a tariff preference level extension for Nepal. Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, objected, Democratic leadership said. Brown recently said lawmakers are angling to put enforcement provisions on TPA over concerns that Customs Reauthorization won’t become law. The Senate Finance Committee approved the Leveling the Playing Field Act during a markup in late April, and the Senate vote to pass the legislation on May 14 (see 1505140029).
Meanwhile, McConnell told lawmakers he will schedule a vote in June on the reauthorization for the Export-Import Bank, according to a spokeswoman. A number of Democrats, including Maria Cantwell, Wash., previously pressured a vote on an Ex-Im amendment on TPA. Cantwell applauded McConnell’s pledge in a statement released shortly after she voted “yes” on the May 21 procedural motion. “Senate Democrats secured a commitment from the Majority Leader that reauthorization of the Export-Import Bank will receive a vote in June,” said the statement (here).