[CTC] GOP leaders confirm Friday trade vote

[Arthur Stamoulis]

http://www.politico.com/story/2015/06/gop-leaders-confirm-friday-trade-vote-118818.html?hp=l2_4

GOP leaders confirm Friday trade vote

By JAKE SHERMAN <http://www.politico.com/reporters/JakeSherman.html> and LAUREN FRENCH <http://www.politico.com/reporters/LaurenFrench.html> 6/10/15 9:52 AM EDT
House leaders, confident but not yet certain they have the support to pass sweeping trade legislation, said Wednesday they plan to bring the package to a floor vote by the end of this week — even as they rush to resolve a last-minute hangup over how to pay for aid to displaced workers.

The vote to grant President Barack Obama fast-track authority to negotiate a massive Pacific Rim trade deal will be extremely tight by all accounts. Senior aides and lawmakers in GOP leadership are intent on scheduling the vote at the moment they believe they have the votes locked up. That time is now set for Friday, in part to spare supportive lawmakers the possibility of another weekend of attacks by trade foes back in their districts.

“We’re doing very well, we’re close,” Ways and Means Chairman Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), who’s been at the forefront of the GOP effort to round up support, said Tuesday of the current vote count. If Republicans want to bring the trade legislation to the floor Friday, they must decide Wednesday. They took a first step toward a vote early Wednesday morning, when GOP leadership posted the legislation online.

Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) has been holding small meetings with lawmakers in his office as he seeks to maximize Republican “yes” votes — and he huddled late Tuesday with House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) to address some unresolved spending and procedural issues. 

The White House, meanwhile, is working with House GOP leadership to solidify Democratic support. House Majority Whip Steve Scalise’s operation has developed a whip list of at least 22 Democratic supporters of so-called Trade Promotion Authority, and they have worked with the White House and Rep. Ron Kind (D-Wis.) to identify other lawmakers believed to still be in play.

Sources involved in canvassing for support say from 25 to 30 Democrats must vote for the package for it to pass. Ryan, Scalise and Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-N.C.), the chief deputy majority whip, have persuaded many undecided GOP lawmakers to support the legislation.

Behind the scenes, Boehner and Ryan are consulting with Pelosi, the White House and other senior Democrats to avoid capping Medicare spending to pay for financial assistance to workers who lose their jobs to free trade, aid formally known as Trade Adjustment Assistance. Pelosi won a concession Tuesday night, when Boehner agreed to tweak the financing plan.

Although the timing of the trade package votes isn’t certain, the process by which the bills will come to the floor is becoming clearer. The House will vote separately on TPA and TAA, and both must pass in order for the package to advance.

In fact, TAA emerged as a last-minute sticking point between Capitol Hill Republicans, Democrats and the White House. Pelosi privately pressed Boehner to drop a proposal, already passed by the Senate, that would prolong a cap on Medicare spending to pay for TAA. But late Tuesday night, the two sides appeared to be in agreement. The measure will now be offset by increasing penalties on companies that file incorrect 1099 tax returns, and by stepping up enforcement of fraudulent higher-education tax credit claims.

This floor vote is one of the most consequential of Obama’s second term in the White House, with major stakes for an array of Washington interests. Should Democrats fall short, it will be seen as just another example of Obama’s lack of clout on Capitol Hill. In a last-ditch move, Obama has begun leaning on the Congressional Black Caucus — chiefly Reps. Cedric Richmond of Louisiana, G.K. Butterfield of North Carolina, Terri Sewell of Alabama and Bennie Thompson of Mississippi — to come through for him on the floor.

Boehner, Ryan and the GOP leadership have a chance to notch a significant political victory. Republicans appear likely to deliver the vast majority of votes on a major bill that will be signed into law.

Pelosi may face the most difficult path of any party leader on this issue, and she has not publicly declared how she’ll vote. She is loyal to Obama, and she played the most important role in the biggest legislative victory of his presidency — passage of the 2010 Affordable Care Act. But labor unions are one of the most important constituencies for House Democrats, and they bitterly oppose fast track.

Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.), one of Pelosi’s closest allies, is leading the anti-fast-track faction and will help round up at least 150 Democratic “no” votes. Pelosi has expressed her own preference for an alternative bill by Rep. Sander Levin of Michigan, the top Democrat on the Ways and Means Committee, that the White House opposes. So when fast-track eventually does come up for a vote, all Democrats will be closely watching their leader.

House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) also hasn’t said how he’ll vote. His noncommittal stance on this issue means the White House must have total confidence in its whip count, since Hoyer seems unlikely to wrangle votes if things go awry on the House floor.

Lauren French contributed to this report.


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