When the U.S. Senate passed the “fast-track” Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) bill, it could go to President Barack Obama to be signed only if the U.S. House passed both the TPA and a companion Senate trade assistance bill. Yesterday, the House failed to pass the trade assistance bill. It lost on a dramatic 302-126 vote. On the TPA vote, which passed, just two members of Georgia’s delegation– Reps. Lynn Westmoreland, R-Sharpsburg, and Doug Collins, R-Gainesville– bucked both Obama and their GOP leadership to vote “no.”
GOP House leaders promise to bring the trade assistance bill back for a vote next week and hope that around 90 members (mostly Democrats) switch their vote to pass what Obama and House Majority John Leader Boehner consider to be a top priority: giving a president more executive authority over trade.
The Washington-based NumbersUSA, the nation’s largest immigration control group, says a vote for TPA is a vote for the introduction of more foreign worker competition at the expense of American workers. There have been warnings from immigration groups, unions and major leaders on both the political left and right on the damaging impact that carelessly-written trade agreements have on our workers and their wages. A recent Wikileaks story proved that immigration was indeed part of the Trade in Services Agreement (one of the four tentative free trade agreements directly affected by TPA) and could cause harm for American workers by increasing the number of foreign workers allowed to work in the U.S. and possibly extending the length of time they can stay.
As for Georgia’s House delegation, two questions arise: How will Democrat House members ultimately vote, since they are torn between pressure from anti-trade pact unions and, on the other hand, lobbying from their pro-trade pact president. Also, could Westmoreland and Collins flip one or two of their Georgia GOP colleagues to help kill the fast-track presidential authority and the overall proposed Pacific trade pact?
