Obama trade push runs aground as House Democrats derail key bill

In a dramatic defeat for the White House, President Obama's trade agenda ran aground in the House on Friday as Democrats banded together in opposition despite a personal plea from the president.

In a 302-126 vote, the House killed a worker aid bill that was tied to the president's main agenda item -- legislation that would give Obama "fast-track" authority to negotiate trade deals. Without it, the trade push -- a key plank of the president's second-term agenda -- withers for now. The vote marked a stunning blow for the president at the hands of his own party, with Nancy Pelosi and labor unions helping drive the stake into the legislation in the end.

Minutes before the vote, Pelosi took to the floor to appeal for a "better deal" for American workers.

The key vote was on so-called Trade Adjustment Assistance bill, a program that retrains workers displaced by trade. The bill was originally put on the table as a sweetener to help entice recalcitrant Democrats to back the "fast-track" bill. But Democrats are so opposed to that legislation, they voted down the sweetener.

The biggest defection for Obama came when Pelosi joined the rebellion in opposing TAA. Though she supports the worker aid, she said voting against it was the only way to "slow down the fast track."

She said the main trade bill would be "stuck in the station" without TAA.


http://www.foxnews.com/politics/201...keep-trade-agenda-afloat-ahead-critical-vote/

 

This was not a vote on a trade deal. It was a vote on the authority to negotiate. This was a vote on TAA not TPP.