http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/may/13/trade-bill-revived-bipartisan-deal-sets-new-votes/ By Stephen Dinan - The Washington Times - Updated: 3:34 p.m. on Wednesday, May 13, 2015
The trade deal was back on track Wednesday afternoon, just a day after hitting the skids in a Democratic filibuster, after leaders struck a bipartisan agreement to move forward.
Democratic senators lost their bid to have four trade-related bills combined into a single measure, but did secure the chance to have votes related to all four bills, giving them the platform they wanted.
“Democrats want a path forward on all four,” Minority Leader Harry Reid, the top Democrat, said.
Exactly a day earlier, Mr. Reid led his troops in filibustering, embarrassing President Obama, who has made trade his top domestic priority in his final years in office.
The new schedule will have the Senate vote on a new combined bill to maintain trade preferences for African nations and a bill to stiffen customs enforcement here in the U.S., then turn to another bill that combines both fast-trade trade negotiating powers for the president and training and financial assistance for workers displaced by free trade.
That second set of bills is considered the critical package, but Democrats had insisted the first package also get a quick vote. The customs enforcement legislation contains a provision directing the administration to take stiffer steps to fight against countries deemed to be manipulating their currencies to gain a trade advantage versus the U.S.
Mr. Obama opposes that language, saying it would kill any eventual trade deal he tries to strike with Asian countries as part of the Trans Pacific Partnership he’s currently negotiating. Keeping the currency manipulation language in the secondary bill, rather than in the main fast-track bill, keeps the process moving forward.
