The Senate squeaked through a procedural motion on standalone Trade Promotion Authority on June 23 with 60 votes in favor and 37 opposed. The move paves the way for final passage of the legislation the following day, said Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., on the Senate floor before the TPA vote. Senate passage of the underlying TPA bill will allow leadership to deliver that legislation to President Barack Obama for his signature after weeks of political wrangling.
The Senate is readying to vote on standalone Trade Promotion Authority and an amended preference package that will include Trade Adjustment Assistance in the coming days after Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., filed cloture on the both bills on June 18. The window for filing amendments on the legislation is the afternoon of June 22, said the office of Majority Whip John Cornyn, R-Texas. The House passed standalone TPA legislation on June 18 (see 1506180025).
The House passed a standalone Trade Promotion Authority bill 218-208 on June 18 in a move that now sends the bill back to the Senate. Final approval in that chamber would send TPA to President Barack Obama for his signature, but lawmakers and experts expect more procedural wrangling between the two chambers before that takes place. The House TPA bill is now an amendment (here) to HR-2146, an unrelated revenue bill (here).
The House passed its preference package with an overwhelming 397-32 majority on June 11. Rep. Collin Peterson, D-Minn., joined Republicans in opposing the bill. The House then initiated the process to send the legislation back to the Senate. The latest version of the House legislation (here) includes different offset provisions than the bill produced by the Senate. Therefore, another vote is required in that chamber before Senate leadership can ultimately send the bill to the president's desk for his signature.
Senate and House trade leaders are beginning to negotiate over a compromise payment mechanism in the Senate-passed preference package and its House counterpart, said a Senate Finance Committee aide on June 9. House Ways and Means Chairman Paul Ryan, R-Wis., said in recent days the preference packages will go to legislative conference over the different offsets (see 1506040066).
Trade legislation may hit the House floor for votes in the final days of this week, House Republican leadership indicated early on June 10. Several trade lobbyists said lawmakers could pass the four trade bills by June 12. The House Rules Committee scheduled a June 10 vote on the rules for all four bills, a necessary precursor to floor time (here). That outcome will likely dictate the path forward on trade, said observers.
The House and Senate are likely to go to legislative conference over the trade preference packages due to a dispute over the payment mechanisms in the bills, said House Ways and Means Chairman Paul Ryan, R-Wis., to reporters on June 4. A conference means lawmakers in both chambers will have to vote again on a compromise bill once differences are reconciled. The Senate passed its version of the bill in late May, but the House hasn’t yet acted. House Republican leadership is aiming for a vote this month.
Customs brokers, freight forwarders and importers pushed House Ways and Means Chairman Paul Ryan, R-Wis., and ranking member Sandy Levin, D-Mich., to “quickly” pass the Senate-approved trade preference package in a June 3 letter (here). Senate lawmakers made changes to the package, after legislators in both chambers introduced the same preference legislation in April (see 1504200052). Both packages comprise renewals for the African Growth and Opportunity Act, the Generalized System of Preference and two Haiti tariff preference level programs.
House Republican leadership isn’t scheduled to hold trade votes during any specific week this month, said Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., in a memo he released to Republican colleagues in recent days that outlines the June agenda. The chamber will “likely consider” Trade Promotion Authority and Trade Adjustment Assistance on the floor at some point in the month, however, and at that time, the House will consider the preference package and Customs Reauthorization. The preference package includes renewals for the Generalized System of Preferences, the African Growth and Opportunity Act and two Haiti tariff preference level programs. Trade experts say House leadership is taking its time to ensure it has the votes to pass TPA and TAA, despite calls for quick passage of the bills (see 1505310002).
The House almost certainly won’t vote on trade legislation this week, and Republican leadership will use the days following Memorial Day recess to shore up support for Trade Promotion Authority and Trade Adjustment Assistance, said Washington trade experts in recent days. The chamber reconvenes on June 1. Leadership will aim to hold separate votes on TPA and TAA, and that won’t likely pose any procedural challenges, said a spokesman for House Ways and Means Chairman Paul Ryan, R-Wis., the chief trade architect in the House.