With the House poised to reconsider Trade Promotion Authority [TPA] as a stand alone measure as early as Thursday, House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) reaffirmed their focus on achieving a key aspect of Obama’s trade agenda.
“We are committed to ensuring both TPA and [Trade Adjustment Assistance] get votes in the House and Senate and are sent to the President for signature,” the pair said in a joint statement Wednesday afternoon.
“And it is our intent to have a conference on the customs bill and complete that in a timely manner so that the President can sign it into law,” they added.
The statement came as Republican leadership move forward with a new strategy to pass legislation granting President Obama “fast track” authority to negotiate trade deals.
The effort hit a road block last week when House Democrats, seeking to scuttle the deal, voted against the TAA, which was packaged with the TPA.
To overcome the stalled bills, the House plans to vote on a stand alone TPA bill this week and move on TAA at a later time. The effort will require the Senate to reconsider the legislation as well.
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.