That's all she wrote: Pelosi to support TAA [View all]

[Proud Public Servant]

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and her caucus are lining up behind a worker aid proposal expected to hit the floor of the lower chamber Thursday, suggesting a central piece of President Obama's trade agenda will reach his desk this week.

Earlier in the month, Pelosi and other liberal House Democrats blocked legislation extending the Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) program as a tactical move to sink the bill granting President Obama trade promotion authority (TPA), known as fast-track, to which it was tied.

But with the Senate set to send a stand-alone fast-track bill to the White House on Wednesday, House Democrats say they no longer have any reason to block the TAA, which they've long championed as a protection for workers harmed by trade deals.

"I’m disappointed that the TAA bill isn’t nearly as robust as it should be in light of a trade agreement that encompasses 40 percent of the global economy," Pelosi wrote Wednesday morning in a Dear Colleague letter.

"While we may not all vote in the same manner on TAA, I will support its passage because it can open the door to a full debate on TPP [Trans-Pacific Partnership]."

http://thehill.com/homenews/house/245967-pelosi-house-dems-lining-up-behind-workers-aid-bill

TAA is a good bill, by itself (though it could be more robust); but it was the last thing needed to fast-track TPP. They're breaking out the champagne and cigars on K Street...