Senate Democrats Call for Immediate Merge of Trade Bills, Emphasize Need for Enforcement

McConnell launched the floor process for trade legislation on May 7, after the chamber endorsed a procedural move to hold a May 12 vote on whether to advance the legislative process for trade. McConnell petitioned the body to allow the vote on a “motion to proceed,” which will take the Senate one step closer, but still shy of actual debate on the legislation.

Democrats Urge Rolling Bills Into One Package

Sens. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Ben Cardin, D-Md., insisted on rolling all the bills into one during a May 7 press conference. “There’s a broad consensus in our caucus that all four should be put together before we move forward on TPA,” said Schumer. “From both TPA supporters and TPA opponents, there’s a consensus in our caucus.” Both lawmakers said currency and enforcement provisions, each of which are included in Customs Reauthorization, are critical Democratic priorities. “It’s important to me, before I vote to proceed on the trade bill, that I know that all four are being considered as one bill on the floor of the United States Senate and will be kept together,” said Cardin. “Secondly, I want to make sure there’s going to be an open amendment process because there’s some additional issues that we want to bring forward and we need to have an opportunity to present those amendments on the floor.”

Schumer voted “no” on TPA in committee, while Cardin sided with Republicans in favor. TPA, the customs bills, Trade Adjustment Assistance, and a preference package have all moved through committee in both chambers. The preference bill includes renewals for the African Growth and Opportunity Act, the Generalized System of Preferences and two Haiti tariff preference level programs. Lawmakers had previously planned to move independently on the four bills.

Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., echoed those calls for combining the trade legislation. “For a lot of the Democrats, you’ve got to have the enforcement,” said Nelson in a brief interview. Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., said she also supports rolling them together, but she said she will oppose TPA. “The majority has to decide what they’re going to do,” said Stabenow. “But I can’t imagine our side supporting a process that leaves trade enforcement off the table.”

The Senate customs legislation includes the Enforcing Orders and Reducing Circumvention Evasion Act, which gives deadlines to CBP to follow up on evasion complaints. Finance ranking member Ron Wyden, D-Ore., has sponsored the legislation over recent congresses. The Senate bill also includes The Leveling the Playing Field Act, which aims to strengthen the Commerce Department’s enforcement of antidumping duties. Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, spearheaded the inclusion of that legislation.

Influential GOP Wary of Merge

Finance Chairman Hatch sharply rejected on May 7 the prospect of merging all the trade bills together. “That was never the deal,” he said. “I’m concerned about getting TPA through and TAA through.” Hatch, a critic of TAA, said that legislation is “the cost of doing business.” Hatch, Wyden, and House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Paul Ryan, R-Wis., all agreed to pass TPA and TAA on the same day in each chamber (see 1504200056).

It’s now the “prerogative” of the Senate leadership to act in the ways they determine is best, but Hatch will keep a seat at the table in those discussions, said one lobbyist. Republican leadership isn’t certain so far on the scheduling for the rest of this legislative work period, which ends May 22 with Memorial Day recess, say industry observers. McConnell may not want to merge "all four of them,” but "it looks like he hasn’t ruled that out for some of them, TPA and TAA in particular,” said the lobbyist. Senate passage on May 7 of the Iran nuclear oversight bill, which passed with only one “no” vote, paves the way for trade and any other legislative items.

Despite the uncertainty over whether Hatch and McConnell will allow for merging the legislation, many Republicans said they are amenable to some degree of combining the bills. Finance member Mike Enzi, R-Wyo., predicted early on May 7 Republican leadership would roll the four trade bills together at some point in the near future (see 1505070012). Later in the day, several Republican Finance members signaled similar expectations. Sens. Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, and Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, all said on May 7 a merge was a possibility. Enzi also said packages with all four trade bills may go to conference. The two chambers need to first vote on legislation on each floor before a conference process could potentially begin.

Continued Concern Over Customs Differences

TPA and TAA will ultimately be combined, but Customs may be exempt from a merge due to the differences between the House and Senate bills, said Sen. Grassley in an interview. “My common sense tells me that you would not want to roll into TPA something that’s going to need a conference,” he said. “So that might be a reason to keep customs out.”

In a May 7 interview, National Foreign Trade Council President Bill Reinsch echoed that assessment. “I think that’s a non-starter,” said Reinsch, referring to the inclusion of Customs Reauthorization in a trade package. “As introduced, the House and Senate bills were different. The two bodies introduced two bills, so that bill is going to conference. If you roll that in, then the whole thing is going to conference, which a lot of people want to avoid. I don’t think that’s a possibility.”

The House and Senate bills are fundamentally different (see 1504300071). Despite striking a deal on TPA, TAA, and the preferences package, Hatch, Wyden and Ryan evidently could not reconcile differences on the customs bill before introduction. Many of the provisions in the customs bills emerged in the last Congress, and those positions have remained largely the same, said U.S. Fashion Industry Association President Julia Hughes in a May 8 interview. “We’ve been talking about this for years, and the same basic differences are still there. Someone will have to blink and compromise,” said Hughes. “I’m not sure customs won’t be acted on, but it doesn’t seem to be on the same timetable as TPA and the other bills.”

McConnell’s Legislative Strategy

McConnell aims to use an unrelated tax bill, HR-1413 (here), as a shell to get trade legislation to the Senate floor, because U.S. law requires the House acts first on revenue-generating legislation. The "cloture" vote will need 60 votes for approval, meaning Republicans will provide the lion's share but an unclear number of Democrats will have to vote “yes.” Trade experts expect at least a few Republicans to ultimately oppose TPA, and that may indicate those Republicans will side against McConnell on May 12.

Lawmakers are edging closer to votes on each floor, but the minute details of the legislative strategy from this point forward are still very much up in the air, said Reinsch. “This is always a fluid situation,” he said. “It’s probably going to change once or twice between now and Tuesday, based on the assessment of the situation and where the votes are.”

Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., isn’t warming to trade like other Democrats, and he continues to insist on the chamber first taking up infrastructure and surveillance bills before moving on trade. Schumer voiced a similar concern. “The trade bill doesn’t have the kind of deadline that either the highway bill or the FISA bill do,” said Schumer at the press conference. “So by moving to the trade bill, we’re simply asking ‘what are the plans of the Republican leader to deal with these two issues, both of which expire on May 31?’”

There will likely continue to be wrangling among lawmakers in the lead-up to the Tuesday vote, said Hughes. “Today and Monday are critical,” she said on May 8. The focus will be on “arm-twisting and the strategy to move forward. Hopefully it comes together by Tuesday.”

The Senate departed the Capitol late on May 7, and won’t convene until the afternoon of May 11. That leaves just over nine legislative days to handle all legislative priorities before recess. “If McConnell says he can get the floor time for all three bills, I’d take him at his word,” said one lobbyist, referring to trade, infrastructure and surveillance. “That is really a discussion and decision for a small group of people.”

Looming House Fight

The Ways and Means Committee didn’t respond for comment on Chairman Ryan’s position on a potential bill merger. House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, also hasn’t yet chimed in on the moving parts. “When the Senate bill finishes off its work, the House is going to be the next big challenge,” said Hughes. The Senate has led the way through the legislative process for trade.

Ryan and House leadership will inevitably have a number of options at their disposal to respond to Senate action, said Reinsch. “Ryan has a choice. He can take up the Senate bill and get a vote on it, and then it’s the end,” Reinsch said. “He could amend it in which case it would have to go back to the Senate or go to conference. Or he could ignore it entirely and take up the bill he reported [out of committee].” That latter option would involve further Senate action. Should multiple bills emerge, legislative maneuvering will be required to reach a bicameral compromise that will allow President Barack Obama to ultimately sign trade legislation. Both Finance and Ways and Means approved the four bills independently in late-April markups.