House votes to give president more trade authority

WASHINGTON—President Barack Obama won increased authority over international trade through a Republican-supported vote in the U.S. House today.

The Trade Priorities and Accountability Act (TPA) passed on a 218-208 vote on the House floor, ending a months-long debate over a bill Democrats fear could contribute to U.S. job loss. Republicans argued the bill will increase trade, which can increase internal wealth.

“It puts America back on the track for economic prosperity,” Rep. Mike Kelly, R-Pa., said during debate. “When America leads, America wins.”

TPA will allow the president to negotiate trade deals with foreign countries without Congress weighing in before it is finalized. Congress will be restricted to an up-or-down vote on the trade deal negotiated by the president. This bill revives a presidential power that expired for the first time in 1994.

“This is a good deal,” Rep. Pete Sessions, R-Texas, said. Countries want U.S. goods, and America should encourage any opportunity to ship items overseas, he said.

The trade agreement Obama is pushing now is called the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). It will help free trade in the Pacific Rim region.

Rep. Louise Slaughter, D-N.Y., debated against passing TPA today because she did not like the provisions of the Trans-Pacific Partnership. She said it did not include encouragement for countries to protect against climate change, it weakened the language opposing human trafficking, and it did not include enough regulations on goods coming into the United States.

Slaughter also expressed fears of the bill’s economic impact.

“All over this country there are factories that are closed,” she said.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said in a press briefing Thursday she also worried about the future for U.S. workers if the House passed the TPA. Democrats fear an increase of trade will push businesses to export jobs abroad.

“Our goal is to give workers more leverage,” Pelosi said.

Rep. Dave Brat, R-Va., stood among the conservative Republicans who voted against TPA. Brat worried the bill could involve more than just an extra push for trade: “What are the repercussions we can’t see?”

Sessions thought it was time to stop debating about what could happen if the bill passed and to start working towards what he claims will be an economic boost.

“We’ve pretty much beaten this dead donkey,” he said.

The bill now heads to the Senate, where Republicans need pro-trade Democrat support to pass it. House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, said he hoped to send the bill to the president by the end of next week: “I’m confident we are in a pretty good place.”