Obama’s fast track trade agenda wins in Senate

WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama’s trade agenda narrowly passed an initial Senate test late Wednesday, but many fellow Democrats hope to trip him in the House.

The Senate Finance Committee endorsed Obama’s request for “fast track” legislation, which would renew presidential authority to present trade deals that Congress can endorse or reject but not amend. If the House and Senate eventually comply, Obama is likely to ask them to approve the 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership, which involves Japan, Canada and Mexico, but not China. Other trade proposals could follow.

Liberals, labor unions and other groups bitterly oppose these trade measures, saying they would hurt U.S. jobs.

They lost a round Wednesday. The Finance Committee narrowly defeated a “currency manipulation” measure that Obama aides said would unravel the Pacific Rim deal. Votes for and against the provision were about evenly divided between Republicans and Democrats, highlighting the unusual – and possibly tenuous – political alignments on trade.

The committee later voted 20-6 to pass the fast track bill. The only committee Republican voting no was Sen. Richard Burr of North Carolina.

Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, said fast track approval promises “high standard” trade deals in the future.

The House dives into the debate today, when the Ways and Means Committee takes up similar fast track legislation. The panel’s top Democrat, Rep. Sander Levin of Michigan, opposes the Obama-backed version. House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi endorsed Levin’s alternative bill, even as Republicans warned that the White House must bring a few dozen House Democrats on board.

By contrast, Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon, the Senate Finance Committee’s top Democrat, backs the fast track bill.

Few issues divide Democrats more than trade. Obama, like former President Bill Clinton, supports free trade, but many Democratic lawmakers do not.

Clinton’s and Obama’s stands – and liberal groups’ opposition – pose a dilemma for Hillary Rodham Clinton, the former first lady now seeking the presidency herself. Campaigning this week in New Hampshire, she declined to say whether she supports the Pacific Rim proposal.

Rivals in both parties mocked her. But Obama seems likely to remain the focus of much ire, especially from fellow Democrats.

Obama says his Democratic opponents have their facts wrong. “I would not be doing this trade deal if I did not think it was good for the middle class,” he said this week. He said Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts is among those “wrong” on the issue.

Warren responded with a blog entry saying “the government doesn’t want you to read this massive new trade agreement. It’s top secret.”

Obama and his trade allies reject such claims. They say fast track and other trade proposals have been carefully negotiated and will undergo public scrutiny for months before final votes take place.

The Finance Committee’s actions Wednesday were delayed for hours because liberal Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., invoked an often-ignored Senate scheduling rule in protest. “This job-killing trade deal has been negotiated in secret,” said Sanders, who made a lengthy Senate speech denouncing the legislation.

The trade debate turns to the House today. Rep. Tom Cole, R-Okla., estimates that about 180 to 200 House Republicans will vote for fast track, along with 15 to 30 Democrats. “This is the president’s initiative,” Cole said. “He’s going to have to work his side of the aisle pretty hard.”

The low end of Cole’s estimate would leave Obama short of a majority in the 435-seat House.