Sanders, Brown & Reid Begin "Senate Trade War" Next Week--(Using Procedural Roadblocks) [View all]

[KoKo]

Dems to Begin "Senate Trade War" Next Week-- (Using Procedural Roadblocks to Their Advantage)

By Burgess Everett--Politico

Senate liberals know they are going to lose the battle over fast-track trade authority. But they’re doing all they can to prolong the fight — perhaps even past the Memorial Day recess into June — in hopes that a long delay will damage the bill’s already difficult prospects in the House.

A coalition of Senate Democrats who’ve long opposed new trade agreements, led by Sherrod Brown of Ohio, say they are planning to throw up procedural roadblocks and offer amendments that would expand worker protections and undermine GOP support for the fast-track measure. While they can’t win the battle, Brown and his allies hope their resistance will stoke popular sentiment against the bill and encourage Democrats to vote against it in the House, where Republican leaders warn they still need about 20 more votes for approval.

“The handwriting’s on the wall,” Brown said of the prospects of beating the bill in the Senate. But, he said: “There’s real opportunity in the House to defeat it.”

“We’re going to work as hard as we can to defeat this legislation,” added Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) in an interview Thursday. “Time is on our side. The longer we keep it on the floor, the more the American people understand what a disastrous agreement this is, the better it is for us.”
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Senate rules will work in their favor, given that any single member can drag out debate for days by objecting to time and amendment agreements. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s promise to have an open amendment process will also help liberals, as they mull offering amendments on currency manipulation and additional worker protections that could be tough for vulnerable Republicans to oppose. And lawmakers need to deal with the expiring PATRIOT Act next week, along with transportation law, putting the squeeze on the Senate’s tight schedule.


More of the article which is a good read at:

http://www.politico.com/story/2015/05/trade-bill-democrats-117978.html?hp=r2_4