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 The move represents a rapid course correction by Republican
leaders and Obama, who both favor the proposed Trans-Pacific
Partnership (TPP) agreement, a keystone of the president's push to
strengthen American ties with Asia.
Under the new plan, lawmakers are expected to debate and vote on
whether to give Obama "fast-track" authority to speed the 12-nation
TPP through Congress, this time without a companion measure to renew
an expiring program helping U.S. workers hurt by trade.
If the new bill succeeds in the House, it would have to win Senate
approval as well, with a vote possibly coming next week.
An earlier bill that combined the two measures backfired last Friday
when Democrats, who traditionally support the worker aid program,
voted against it in order to stop the broader fast-track initiative.
Many Democrats, who have strong links to trade unions, fear trade
deals such as the TPP will cost U.S. jobs as employers chase lower
costs in signatory countries.
 Obama has said that without the TPP, China would gain more influence
than the United States in shaping regional trade rules.
Friday's vote was a slap in the face for Obama, who had personally
appealed to his fellow Democrats to support his trade agenda built
around the TPP, which would stretch from Singapore, Malaysia and
Vietnam to Canada, Mexico and Australia.
On Wednesday, House and Senate Republican leaders committed to
pressing ahead with the worker aid program in a separate bill,
although it was not clear whether that would be enough to keep
Senate Democrats behind the initiative.
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White House spokesman Josh Earnest said on Wednesday that Obama is
open to a legislative strategy that separates fast-track from worker
aid, as long as both issues make it to his desk to be signed into
law.
Under fast-track authority, the president can negotiate trade
agreements, such as the TPP, knowing Congress can approve or reject
the deals, but not amend them.
TPP partners such as Japan, the second-biggest economy in the pact
after the United States, have said fast-track is vital to completing
the TPP, as it gives trading partners confidence that deals will not
be picked apart in Congress.
Some details on the trade package have been released. .
(Additional reporting by Julia Edwards, Roberta Rampton, Jeff Mason
and Alex Wilts; Editing by Kevin Drawbaugh and Ken Wills)
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