[CTC] Obama Signals Trade Votes Still Up In The Air After Leaving Meeting With Dems

[Arthur Stamoulis]

Friday, June 12, 2015
Daily News
Obama Signals Trade Votes Still Up In The Air After Leaving Meeting With Dems
Posted: June 12, 2015
Updated at 10:55 a.m.: President Obama signaled after leaving a meeting with the House Democratic Caucus this morning (June 12) that it is still up in the air whether the House later in the day will pass a bill renewing Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) and Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) that is a major legislative priority for him.
"I don't think you ever nail down anything around here. It's always moving," Obama told reporters, when asked whether there were sufficient votes for passage. Both the TPA and TAA votes must succeed in order for the Senate-passed bill which contains them, H.R. 1314, to pass the House and go to the president's desk.
Obama spoke after leaving the caucus meeting, where he was expected to make the case to Democrats for TAA reauthorization.
He was also expected to push House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) to whip in favor of TAA, according to one congressional aide. The aide said Labor Secretary Thomas Perez had already met with Pelosi this morning to press her to do so.
A pro-TPA business source said there are indications that the whip efforts by the White House and the New Democrat Coalition to secure enough votes for TAA are making headway, but are not there yet. He said the argument that voting down TAA will kill the program once and for all is resonating with Democrats.
After the Democratic caucus meeting wrapped up, the House reconvened at roughly 10:55 a.m. It had recessed at roughly 9:45 a.m. to accommodate the Democratic caucus meeting, which was slated to start at 9:30 a.m. The president arrived at the Capitol at 9:38 a.m., according to a White House pool report. 
With the recess, votes on TPA, TAA and the customs bill have now been delayed until between 12:15 and 1:15 p.m. 
Rep. Xavier Becerra (D-CA), chairman of the House Democratic Caucus, said prior to the meeting that he expected Obama to say “a lot of what he's said before” in making the case for his trade agenda.
The recess came after some Democrats had complained that Obama's visit with the caucus would cut into the time they will be allotted for floor debate of H.R. 1314.     
One Democratic lawmaker opposed to TPA argued on the floor this morning that fast-track supporters have enough votes to pass TPA, which makes TAA the critical vote to stop the president's trade agenda. 
Rep. Bill Pascrell (D-NJ), who sits on the House Ways & Means Committee, offered a slightly different assessment prior to the caucus meeting, expressing confidence that Democrats would be able to defeat both TAA and TPA.
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