<html><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html charset=utf-8"></head><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space;" class=""><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;" class=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif;" class="">POLITICO<o:p class=""></o:p></span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;" class=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif;" class=""> </span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;" class=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif;" class="">McConnell sees TPA, TAA and AGOA on Obama's desk by July 4<o:p class=""></o:p></span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;" class=""><o:p class=""> </o:p></div><div class=""><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;" class="">6/18/15 7:41 PM EDT<o:p class=""></o:p></div></div><p style="margin-right: 0in; margin-left: 0in; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;" class="">Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell tonight laid out a path for trade promotion authority, Trade Adjustment Assistance and a trade preferences bill to reach President Barack Obama's desk before July 4th, but said it would take trust on both sides to accomplish that goal.<o:p class=""></o:p></p><p style="margin-right: 0in; margin-left: 0in; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;" class="">"In the judgement of members of both parties in the House and the Senate, our best way forward is to consider TPA and TAA separately," McConnell <a href="http://www.politicopro.com/f/?f=39532&inb" target="_blank" style="color: purple;" class="">said</a> on the Senate floor. "That means TAA will come second after TPA, but the votes will be there to pass it."<o:p class=""></o:p></p><p style="margin-right: 0in; margin-left: 0in; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;" class="">McConnell then filed two cloture motions: One to limit debate on a trade preferences bill that he plans to use as a vehicle to approve Trade Adjustment Assistance and another to limit debate on a TPA bill passed today by the House.<o:p class=""></o:p></p><p style="margin-right: 0in; margin-left: 0in; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;" class="">"This puts the Senate on a procedural glide-path to consider and then pass the TPA bill, the AGOA [African Growth and Opportunity Act] and preferences bill and TAA," McConnell said. "And so assuming everyone has a little faith and votes the same way they did just a few weeks ago, we'll be able to get all of these bills to the president soon."<o:p class=""></o:p></p><p style="margin-right: 0in; margin-left: 0in; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;" class="">McConnell also promised action on customs legislation passed by the House and Senate and said there would be conference on that legislation "as soon as we're able."<o:p class=""></o:p></p><p style="margin-right: 0in; margin-left: 0in; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;" class=""><em class="">— Doug Palmer</em></p></body></html>