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 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 on 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.
In Japan on Saturday, Economy Minister Akira Amari held out hope the
trade legislation could be revived.
 "The fastest schedule for reaching a broad agreement at the
ministerial level has become more difficult," Amari told a news
conference hours after the vote in the U.S. House of
Representatives. "We don't need to be too pessimistic. We'll closely
watch the efforts in the U.S. Congress."
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 U.S. 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.
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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
that 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.
(Additional reporting by David Lawder, Julia Edwards, Roberta
Rampton Susan Cornwell, Alex Wilts, Elvina Nawaguna; Editing by Tom
Brown, Kevin Drawbaugh and Ken Wills)
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