Wyden confident trade bill will advance with ‘strong’ support

Sen. Ron Wyden (Ore.) believes he has enough Democratic support to get his contested trade deal through the Senate Finance Committee and is confident about its floor chances, he told reporters Friday.

“I believe there will be Democratic support,” Wyden, the top Democrat on the committee, said at a Christian Science Monitor breakfast Friday. “I believe that we will win a strong vote in the Finance Committee.”

But, Wyden acknowledged, “there’s a long way go.”

{mosads}“Next week is going to be all about discussing these issues, trying to get various opinions out,” he said.

Congressional leaders on Thursday revealed a deal on so-called fast-track trade authority that would speed up consideration of President Obama’s trade agenda by removing Congress’s ability to amend the deals.

The administration has been stalled on negotiations with the 11 Latin American and Asian countries that form the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). A successful deal would be the largest U.S. trade deal since the North American Free Trade Agreement with Mexico and Canada.

Wyden, announced the deal on new fast-track legislation with Finance Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) and House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-Wis.).

The fast-track bill — and Obama’s trade agenda — has sharply split Democrats.

Many argue trade deals cause job losses and lower wages. Reports earlier this week indicated very little support among Democrats for fast track.

The rift has raised questions about whether Wyden can garner support within his committee and throughout the Senate to get his fast-track measure approved.

Wyden will pitch fellow Democrats on his bill using several arguments, including the rise of the Internet and the transparency measures embedded in fast track.

“It’s pretty hard to deal with all the trade opportunities if you don’t have some set of modern rules to kind of be your loadstar,” he said.

Wyden said fast-track would create enforceable protections for a free and open Internet, a necessity in an increasingly connected world.

“The reality is most of those trade bills were written before anyone had any idea about iPhones,” he said.

Wyden also promoted the bill’s section requiring the president to publish trade deals 60 days before signing them. That will give the public — and Congress — more power to weigh in on the agreement.

“You’re starting to have a fairer debate, a fairer fight,” he said.

Tags Orrin Hatch Paul Ryan Ron Wyden

Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed..

 

Main Area Top ↴

Testing Homepage Widget

 

Main Area Middle ↴
Main Area Bottom ↴

Most Popular

Load more

Video

See all Video