Things got off to a slow start Wednesday for President Barack Obama’s fast-track trade plan, which has emerged as one of the most divisive issues facing Democrats in the new Congress.
As the Senate Finance Committee prepared to pass the bill, independent Sen. Bernard Sanders of Vermont invoked a little-used procedural rule to stall even incremental progress on a measure that’s become one of the president’s top economic goals. Sanders is one of the main opponents of Obama’s plan to create the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a 12-nation agreement that would include Japan and Vietnam.
“Americans should not be forced to compete against desperately poor workers like those in Vietnam, who make as little as 56 cents an hour,” Sanders said.
Sanders’ opening salvo reflected the hard-knuckle politics awaiting Obama as he fights for the partnership, which if approved would be the largest trade pact in history.
While most Republicans and some moderate Democrats back Obama, he faces vehement opposition from many traditional allies, including unions, environment groups and liberals, who want nothing to do with his trade proposals.
With the Democratic base increasingly fired up over trade, the issue is quickly becoming hot in the presidential race. Sanders is considering a run and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is under pressure to oppose Obama’s plans.
Clinton, the presumed Democratic front-runner, has a record on the issue, having voted as a senator to oppose a similar fast-track request made by then-President George W. Bush in 2002. During a campaign swing through New Hampshire on Tuesday, she declined to endorse the president’s fast-track request while discussing trade issues.
Sanders’ parliamentary move forced the Finance Committee to delay its morning meeting on the plan, but it met in the afternoon. Its leaders had hopes of approving the fast-track bill, also known as trade-promotion authority, which would set the rules of debate once the Trans-Pacific Partnership is finalized. Its passage appeared all but assured.
The bill will face tougher sledding in the full Senate, where 60 votes will be needed to end a filibuster. Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, another opponent and a favorite of liberals, is under pressure to lead the effort.
Prospects are even less certain in the House of Representatives, where a majority of Republicans are backing Obama on the measure but most Democrats want to kill the president’s plan.
Washington state, one of the nation’s most trade-dependent states, is a good example of the difficulties Obama faces in his own party. While the president has backing from the state’s senators – Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell, both Democrats – its House delegation is divided along party lines. All four Republicans plan to vote for the bill, but none of the six Democrats are on board.
Administration officials say the trade pact would create thousands of jobs for U.S. firms. Critics say it will send more American jobs overseas.
With close votes expected, the AFL-CIO union is targeting 16 senators and 36 House members.
In Washington state, the targets include three undecided Democratic representatives: Derek Kilmer, Rick Larsen and Suzan DelBene.
In California, opponents are pressuring Democratic Rep. Doris Matsui and Democratic House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi. On Tuesday, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors entered the fray, urging Pelosi, who represents the city, to oppose the fast-track bill. (She said she’d support a substitute bill expected to be offered by Rep. Sander Levin, D-Mich.)
In Washington state, the Seattle and Bellingham city councils passed similar resolutions last month.
Xiomara Castro, Northern California organizer for the Citizens Trade Campaign, a group that opposes Obama’s trade plans, said Matsui should “say no to dangerous trade legislation and promote the interests of working families.” A group of opponents targeted the congresswoman at a rally in downtown Sacramento last Friday, but she remains on the fence.
“The congresswoman is carefully and thoughtfully considering the issue and is undecided at this time,” Jonelle Trimmer, Matsui’s spokeswoman, said Wednesday.
When the bill moves to the full Senate, all eyes will be on Warren. Last week, she called Obama’s plan an attempt “to help the rich get richer and leave everyone else behind.”
The president shot back at her Tuesday, telling MSNBC-TV talk-show host Chris Matthews: “She’s wrong on this.”
Warren will be pitted against the bill’s sponsors, Republican Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah, the chairman of the Finance Committee, and Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden, the panel’s top Democrat. Wyden said the legislation would make it easier for American companies to sell goods to a growing middle class overseas.
Democrat Harry Reid, the Senate minority leader from Nevada, set the stage for the Senate debate Tuesday, declaring himself a “hell, no” vote on fast track.
House members will begin debating the bill Thursday in the Ways and Means Committee. Washington state Republican Rep. Dave Reichert, a senior member of the panel, called the legislation “a momentous step forward for U.S. trade policy.”
He and three other Washington state Republicans – Dan Newhouse, Cathy McMorris Rodgers and Jaime Herrera Beutler – plan to vote for the fast-track bill.
Among the state’s Democratic House members, Rep. Jim McDermott, who represents Seattle, plans to vote no, while Reps. Adam Smith and Denny Heck, along with Kilmer, Larsen and DelBene, remain undecided.
Comments