[CTC] Fast Track timing

[Arthur Stamoulis]

Inside U.S. Trade 
Daily News
Ways & Means To Hold April 22 TPA Hearing; Levin Blasts New Bill
Posted: April 17, 2015
CORRECTED: The House Ways & Means Committee will hold an April 22 hearing on the Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) bill introduced on April 16 by Chairman Paul Ryan (R-WI), according to Ranking Member Sander Levin (D-MI) and Brendan Buck, a Ryan spokesman.

At an April 17 press briefing, Levin said Ways & Means could then mark up of the bill on April 24, the same day that the Senate Finance Committee is aiming to do so. There is a 48-hour notice requirement for a markup, according to Democratic aides.

Ways & Means trade subcommittee Chairman Pat Tiberi (R-OH) said on April 16 <http://insidetrade.com/node/147352> that the full committee could mark up the TPA bill and other trade legislation as soon as next week.

In an interview, Buck did not confirm the date of the markup. But he said he expects the April 23 hearing to include a single witness, who would be from the administration, though he added this has not been finalized. It would likely be U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman.

The committee formally issued a notice for the hearing late Friday (April 17). Buck said that committee rules normally require a hearing notice to be issued seven days in advance, but that the minority agreed to waive that requirement in this instance.

Levin during the press briefing said he opposes the TPA bill because it gives up congressional leverage and thereby “dramatically reduces” the chances of reaching a Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement that could garner his support and that of other Democrats. He argued that passing a TPA bill wrongly sends the message to TPP countries that, with Congress out of the way, they do not have to make as many concessions in the talks.

He said he is not satisfied with where the TPP negotiations are on key issues including currency manipulation and labor rights. “If TPP's not on the right track, don't fast track it,” he said.

Levin said he would work to defeat the TPA bill, but did not provide any specifics on what actions he planned to take. He said House Democratic leaders know his position on TPA and that he has held discussions with them on this issue, but he declined to characterize the leadership's position on the bill.

He said he believed TPA was being rushed through Congress in part because of the visit of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to Washington on April 28-29.

Levin characterized the new TPA bill as being nearly identical to the one introduced in the last Congress, with the exception of a new negotiating objective on human rights.

He dismissed as “unnecessary” and “meaningless” a new mechanism fought for by Senate Finance RankingMember Ron Wyden (D-OR) that would give Congress another tool to strip a trade agreement of fast-track protection. This is because Congress has always had the ability to turn off fast track through a majority vote in either chamber, he argued.

Editor's Note: An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated the date of the Ways & Means hearing.
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