[CTC] Ryan: Votes not there for trade agreement

[Arthur Stamoulis]

Let’s keep up the great work to ensure the votes aren’t there through the spring, Lame Duck and beyond…


http://journaltimes.com/news/local/ryan-votes-not-there-for-trade-agreement/article_b5192a7c-3e8e-5b81-bd38-bd3d71831f90.html
Ryan: Votes not there for trade agreement

4 hours ago  •  MARK SCHAAF mark.schaaf at journaltimes.com <http://journaltimes.com/search/?l=50&sd=desc&s=start_time&f=html&byline=MARK%20SCHAAF%0Amark.schaaf%40journaltimes.com>

RACINE COUNTY — One of the major priorities for President Barack Obama's final year is on thin ice in Congress. 

House Speaker Paul Ryan said in an interview many concerns have been raised over the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a major 12-country trade deal with Pacific countries reached last year. 

Obama has called for Congress to pass the agreement, but lawmakers would not do so if a vote was held today, Ryan said.

"There are enough concerns about this agreement, some that I also have, where I don't see enough support for it right now," Ryan, R-Wis., told The Journal Times on Tuesday.

Ryan didn't elaborate on specifics, but the agreement has been met with bipartisan skepticism. While the Obama administration has been the driving force behind TPP, many Democrats oppose the deal, arguing it would cost American jobs. Opponents include both Democrats in the presidential race, Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders.

In Racine, Democratic state Rep. Cory Mason held a press conference last spring <http://journaltimes.com/news/local/democrats-union-members-oppose-trade-measure-ryan-supports-it/article_140c4873-bc51-57ed-a18a-be3740a2550b.html> with union members and retirees calling on Ryan to end his push for the legislation. 

Obama, meanwhile, has said <https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2015/10/05/statement-president-trans-pacific-partnership> the deal "levels the playing field" for American workers, eliminates 18,000 taxes, and includes "the strongest commitments on labor and the environment of any trade agreement in history."

TPP was one of the topics Ryan, whose district includes Racine County, discussed with Obama when the two met <http://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/03/us/politics/obama-and-paul-ryan-have-lunch-mitch-mcconnell.html?_r=0> for about three hours last week.

Ryan said he and the president found some areas of agreement, including reforms on criminal justice and mental health. He expects measures to move through Congress this year. 

"We obviously aired our differences on a whole host of issues," he said. "We also looked where we could find some common ground."

Ryan, however, does not anticipate finding much common ground on Obama's budget proposal, which was set to be released later Tuesday. 

"I'm sure he'll put a lot of things in his budget for political reasons to make political points with no expectation of action on them, is what I expect," Ryan said. 





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