Senator Coburn Now Final Obstacle to GSP Vote in Senate
As the Generalized System of Preferences July 31 expiration date looms, Sen. Kay Hagan, D-N.C. has withdrawn her objection to a unanimous consent vote on GSP renewal legislation, according to the Coalition for GSP (here). The lone remaining obstacle to the vote is Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., who opposes the funding mechanisms incorporated in the Senate legislation (see 13071914).
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There may not be an easy fix to deal with the Coburn objection, said Bill Reinsch, president of the National Foreign Trade Council (NFTC) “Senator Coburn’s problem can not be easily dealt with. … It’s not opposition to the substance of the program or the bill,” said Reinsch. “It's against the funding provision that he has said in the past he opposes. And he’s demonstrated in the past, he’s unmovable on such things. I imagine the Finance Committee will have to replace that with another mechanism.” Hagan and Coburn did not return requests for comment.
Although the House Ways and Means Committee introduced identical legislation without funding provisions on July 17, a day before the Senate introduction, the Senate is required to include offsets (here). Sen. Coburn expressed opposition to the customs user fees collection postponement provision, one of two chosen for GSP renewal legislation, during debate in 2012 over a funding provision extension for the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA). “It's going to be paid for by the people who import things ten years from now. Not now. That’s the whole point,” Coburn argued (here) to the Finance Committee at the time. “The fact that we're going to take custom user fees over ten years to pay for this is just ludicrous.”
NFTC's Reinsch said the only likely option forward is for the Finance Committee to amend the legislation in a palatable fashion for Coburn. Reinsch said the sponsors of the bill, Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., and Ranking Member Orrin Hatch, R-Utah., must have anticipated the Coburn objection, though indicating there may not be another viable alternative. While reporting Sen. Hagan’s objection withdrawal late July 29, the Coalition for GSP emphasized the importance of expeditious maneuvering on the Hill, in light of the start of August recess the night of Aug. 2. “It’s very important that the Senate passes GSP renewal legislation today. If the Senate does not, the House may not have time to consider the bill before adjourning on Friday … and then it doesn’t return to D.C. until September 9,” the Coalition said (here).