On Tuesday, the Senate voted 60 to 37 to advance a controversial bill to give the president fast-track authority on international free trade agreements, including the pending Trans-Pacific Partnership between the U.S. and 11 other countries across Latin America and Asia.
An unusual coalition of establishment Democrats like Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Republicans like Marco Rubio (R-FL) formed to support the bill — with progressives like Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Tea Party Republicans like Ted Cruz (R-TX) standing in opposition.
Just before the vote, Senate Majority leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) said the bill would help “knock down unfair barriers that discriminate against American workers” and that failing to pass the measure would be “ceding the future…to Chinese aggression.”
Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR), who rarely sides with McConnell, agreed, touting the “economic potential” of the increased U.S. exports he promised the eventual trade deal would create.
But a revolt from the Senate’s Tea Party wing, led by Texas Republican and presidential candidate Ted Cruz rallied lawmakers to oppose the the effort. Though Cruz was silent during the Senate debate on the bill Tuesday, he called the plan “corporate welfare, cronyism and corrupt dealmaking” in an op-ed, and cited “serious concerns that it would open up the potential for sweeping changes in our laws that trade agreements typically do not include.”
Though the text of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) remains secret, inaccessible to the public and even members of Congress, sections of the agreement released by Wikileaks mirror past trade agreements in that they allow member countries to sue each other in international courts for passing laws protecting the environment, food safety, or open access to the Internet.
Moments after the bill passed on Tuesday, Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) angrily called it “a day of celebration in the corporate suites in this country.”
“People will lose jobs because of decisions we are making today,” he said, citing the tens of thousands of jobs that left Ohio following past free trade agreements. “We’re going to inflict pain on these workers. It’s shameful to ignore them. What a betrayal.”
Brown said he was especially frustrated that the Senate had revoked its promise to tie together the fast-track bill with Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA), a program to support and retrain American workers who lose their jobs because of the increased global competition from freer trade.
Though the Senate will hold a vote TAA later this week, it will follow a final voting on giving the president fast-track authority. Brown and others worry that without the political pressure, the funding for displaced workers will not pass. Remarks by Senate Republicans, including Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT), stoked those fears. Hatch called the program “redundant and ineffective” and said of the workers set to lose their jobs to outsourcing, “Even those who encounter temporary setbacks can find new opportunities.”
“It’s clear free trade creates winners and losers,” Brown shot back. “Now, we’ve gotten the worst of both words. We’re passing [fast-track] without knowing what’s in TPP. We’re giving up the leverage we have as we’re kept in the dark. That’s why there’s anger in this country. That’s why so many in my state are asking, ‘Why are you moving so fast? Why don’t we know more about this process?’”