Schumer strikes deal with Crapo to save China bill
By Alexander Bolton - 05/27/21 02:11 PM EDT
Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) has struck a gentlemen’s agreement with Sen. Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) to allow a vote on his trade deal with Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) as an amendment to a China competitiveness bill.
The amendment has a good chance of passing, and the breakthrough between Schumer and Crapo means there’s now a chance the competitiveness bill, which has been renamed the Innovation and Competition Act, could pass Thursday.
“Crapo is very happy with the deal,” one GOP senator said in reference to the gentlemen’s agreement between Schumer and Crapo to allow a vote on bipartisan language to extend trade preferences and tariff relief.
Crapo and Wyden had a deal on the trade preferences, but Schumer blocked it from being added to the competitiveness bill.
Because the Crapo amendment would come after the Senate has voted to end debate on the substitute amendment to the competitiveness bill, it needs the sign-off of every single senator. So-called post-cloture amendments need unanimous consent.
Crapo has been shopping his deal with the rest of the Senate GOP conference and it looks like he has support from his Republican colleagues although there is one Senate GOP holdout who wants more time to study the bill.
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https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/555797-schumer-strikes-deal-with-crapo-to-save-china-bill
