Ugh. Boehner and McConnell Hatch a Plan To Push the President's Trade Agenda Through [View all]

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Congress.

House Speaker John Boehner and Republican leaders are moving to revive President Barack Obama’s beleaguered trade agenda with an elaborate procedural workaround that was quickly greeted with skepticism among some Democrats.

Under the emerging plan, the House would vote on a bill that would give Obama fast-track authority to negotiate a sweeping trade deal with Pacific Rim countries, sending it to the Senate for final approval. To alleviate Democratic concerns, the Senate then would amend a separate bill on trade preferences to include Trade Adjustment Assistance, a worker aid program that Republicans oppose but that House Democrats have blocked to gain leverage in the negotiations over fast-track.

The leaders’ behind-the-scenes machinations are an attempt to allow both bills — TAA and the fast-track measure known as Trade Promotion Authority — to move to Obama’s desk separately, sidestepping the objections of House Democrats that stalled the package last week. The idea, which has been discussed among top congressional leaders and the White House, would be tantamount to a dare to pro-trade Democrats in both chambers to vote it down.

The plans are fluid and could change. But multiple congressional leaders, speaking anonymously to candidly describe their strategy, said they felt this was the only hope to reverse the trade package’s flagging fortunes.

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Across the Capitol, however, some pro-trade Senate Democrats were wary. Their concern is that fast-track trade authority would pass both chambers of Congress, but that the Republican House would then reject TAA. The aid program for workers who lose their jobs to trade has been the asking price for many Democrats and even some Republicans to back Obama’s free trade push.

“It’s highly unlikely I can support TPA without TAA,” said Delaware Sen. Tom Carper, one of the staunchest Democratic supporters of the trade package.

Read more: http://www.politico.com/story/2015/06/boehner-mcconnell-hatch-trade-workaround-119083.html#ixzz3dMHpUE9V