|
 At the same time, further delays will squeeze the time frame for
Obama to hammer out the 12-nation pact, a signature project that was
dealt a major setback in the House of Representatives last week by
the president's own Democrats.
As expected after last week's drama, the House voted 236 to 189 to
extend until July 30 a deadline for a second vote on a federal
program that supports workers hurt by trade. An initial vote on it
failed on Friday, causing lawmakers to consider the option of
cutting that program out of the trade bill altogether.
In that vote, many Democrats opposed the worker aid program as a way
to block a companion measure to streamline the passage of trade
deals through the U.S. Congress. Even though the second measure was
approved, its progress was blocked by the failure of the worker aid
program.
That threw plans for a swift completion of Obama's Trans-Pacific
Partnership, or TPP, into disarray, forcing him and Republican
leaders, who also support the trade pact, to search for a new path
ahead.
"We're looking for a way forward and when we find one we will let
you know," House Speaker John Boehner, a Republican, told reporters
before the vote.
Republican Senator John Thune said delays were not helping the TPP,
which must get past Congress this year to avoid being bogged down in
the U.S. 2016 presidential elections.
"The longer this hangs out there, the harder it becomes and the more
it complicates passage of TPP,” Thune told reporters.
[to top of second column] |
Democrats opposed the worker aid program because its approval would
ease the passage of "fast-track," which would allow lawmakers to set
negotiating objectives for trade deals but restrict them to a
yes-or-no vote on the final agreement. Many Democrats and their
labor union allies fear that trade deals such as TPP will cause the
loss of American jobs.
One possibility would be to drop the worker aid program and send to
the Senate, which has already approved both measures, a bill
containing only fast-track provisions.
Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch said he was open to
any solution that would get the trade package done. "We’re
ultimately going to get it through," he said.
(Additional reporting by Richard Cowan and Alex Wilts; Editing by
Kevin Drawbaugh and Steve Orlofsky)
[© 2015 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
Copyright 2015 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
 |
