Bush Hails House Passage Of Expanded Trade Powers, Urges Senate To Follow
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| Bush urges Senate to follow the House of Representatives in passing the controversial trade bill |
WASHINGTON, July 27 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) – After a long battle between the executive and legislative branches, U.S. President George W. Bush praised the House of Representatives Saturday for passing legislation granting the White House broader authority to negotiate international trade deals, and urged the Senate to follow suit.
"For nearly 10 years, America has lacked Trade Promotion Authority [TPA] and the ability to fully take advantage of trade opportunities," Bush said in a statement early Saturday.
"I commend the House and Senate conferees for their leadership in reaching a landmark agreement on TPA, which will open markets, expand opportunity and create jobs for American workers and farmers."
The president said the House "has shown a commitment to getting something done on behalf of the American people, and I urge the Senate to vote on this good bill before the Senate goes home for the August recess" next week.
By a vote of 215 to 212 - breaking largely along party lines, with Republicans voting mostly in favor and Democrats against - Congress strengthened Bush's hand in negotiating trade agreements with foreign governments, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported.
The trade promotion, or "fast track," authority would enable the president to negotiate trade deals that Congress could approve or reject, but not amend, over the next five years.
The vote on the compromise legislation, which came at about 3 a.m. (0700 GMT) Saturday before the House adjourned for a month-long recess, was taken several hours after President Bush appealed to lawmakers, saying the enhancing trade negotiation powers were a key priority for his administration.
Senators could vote on a compromise bill as early as next week, although the vote could be delayed until September, after the congressional recess, said Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, who supports the proposal.
The compromise proposal reached Thursday by House and Senate negotiators over several days of tough talks includes a Senate-sponsored provision to aid workers who have lost their jobs as a result of trade.
The bill also includes a stalled provision to extend trade preferences to the Andean countries of Bolivia, Ecuador, Peru and Colombia, along with preferences for fabric and clothing imported from the Caribbean and Africa.
"In today's world where trade is so critical, and the number of dollars we get on the basis of our ability to market overseas decreases, the president does not have the tool to begin negotiations with other countries. That's like beginning a boxing match with one hand tied behind your back. That doesn't make sense," said House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Bill Thomas, a Republican who worked out the bipartisan compromise with Democratic Senator Max Baucus of Montana, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee.
Bush has said he needs the expanded trade negotiating authority if he is to succeed in crafting a pan-American free trade deal by its target date of 2005.
Every president since Gerald Ford in the mid-1970s has enjoyed the authority, which expired in April 1994, during the administration of President Bill Clinton. Efforts to renew it have failed on largely partisan differences over the treatment of labor and environmental issues in trade talks.
Business groups said the bill would help open markets and expand U.S. exports.
"It's really quite an important step ahead," said Tom Niles, president of the United States Council for International Business.
"It's very unlikely you could negotiate a trade deal, particularly in a multilateral context, without it," he
said
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