House moves fast-track trade bill, with most Georgia Republicans on board
House Speaker John Boehner walks through the halls of Congress before last week’s trade votes. (Mark Wilson/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON — The U.S. House passed fast-track trade authority for President Barack Obama on Thursday, stripping out assistance to displaced workers favored by Democrats in a newly rejiggered effort to get the authority to the president’s desk.
The vote was 218-208, similar to last week’s vote but a necessary re-do after House Democrats voted down Trade Adjustment Assistance, which was to be tacked onto Trade Promotion Authority.
In the Georgia delegation, all Republicans except Reps. Lynn Westmoreland of Coweta County and Doug Collins of Gainesville were in favor, and all Democrats were opposed.
TPA would give the president fast-track authority to negotiate a massive, 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal, allowing Congress the opportunity to vote up-or-down to approve it, but not amend it. The other nations are said to not want to sign on to a trade deal that could be amended later. Democrats, encouraged by labor unions, bucked Obama’s wishes to oppose any bills related to the deal.
Now the Senate will work to piece things back together, and has promised a vote at some point on TAA, but House Democrats might have sacrificed some leverage in their efforts to kill fast track — which is moving on without them.
Said Rep. Buddy Carter, R-Pooler, of the Democrats:
“If I were them, I’d go ahead and pass TAA, because TPA is going to happen. And I understand their motives to begin with not to pass TAA in order to stop TPA, but that train’s left the station.
“TPA’s going to pass. And if they want anything out if this, if they want TAA out of it, they better get their stuff together.”
But Rep. John Lewis, D-Atlanta, said he was counting on Senate Democrats to hold firm against TPA without more concessions:
“I think it’s sort of fluid. People are still talking. And we haven’t reached any consensus of where we’re going, but I think we’re all going to listen.”
It’s far from over, but Rep. Rob Woodall, R-Lawrenceville, called the trade backflips “the most convoluted House process we’ve had” since Woodall arrived in 2011. He still voted for it because “it doesn’t happen often, but the president’s right on free trade.”
Westmoreland said the process was the reason for his no, as he had no substantive problems with TPA. He took issue with Speaker John Boehner working with moderate House Democrats and Senate leaders to make sure the package can pass the upper chamber.
“It should stand on its own. TPA, I’ve read the TPP portion that’s complete. I’ve read the TPA. I don’t see all these environmental buggers and all this other stuff [that raised concerns on the right], but man you can’t operate like this. Everything needs to stand on its own legs, and if it passes it passes.
“And if they want to negotiate with somebody, we’re the majority party over here. If you want to negotiate with somebody, let’s negotiate with us. … Why do we want to customize everything over here that we do to satisfy Senate Democrats?”
The answer, of course, is that Senate Democrats have enough votes to filibuster most anything.
Replied Westmoreland: “That ain’t my problem.”
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