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Senate Passes Fast Track; Bill Bounces Back to House
Fast track trading authority passed the U.S. Senate on May 23 but not without amendments that could water down the power it may ultimately give President George W. Bush to negotiate trade pacts.
The bill passed 66 to 30, with 25 Democrats and 5 Republicans voting against it. The original bill passed the U.S. House by a single vote last December, and the Senate version will now go to a conference committee to be further revamped. At that point, the full House would have to vote again, giving labor and other opponents another chance to defeat it.
“CWA and the rest of the labor community have worked extremely hard to stop fast track and we will continue to fight it,” CWA President Morton Bahr said, praising union families for heeding the call to contact senators and voice their concerns.
With fast track authority, Bush can negotiate trade deals with no input from Congress beyond a simple vote to accept or reject the pact. One such pact in the works is the 34-country Free Trade Area of the Americas agreement, which has virtually no language protecting workers or the environment.
FTAA would expand the North American Free Trade Agreement to the full Western Hemisphere, except Cuba. Since NAFTA became law in 1994, hundreds of U.S. and Canadian companies have moved their factories to Mexico to escape labor laws and living wages. More than a million Americans have lost their jobs because of NAFTA.
Labor, environmentalists, social justice advocates and others joined forces against fast track, and their concerns led to dozens of proposed amendments. One that passed would give the Senate more authority over portions of trade bills that would weaken existing U.S. trade laws, especially anti-dumping laws.
The Dayton-Craig amendment, brought by Sen. Mark Dayton (D-Minn.) and Sen. Larry Craig (R-Idaho), would allow any senator to ask for a separate vote on a portion of a trade pact that changes trade law — for instance, language that alters tariffs or gives corporations unbridled legal rights, as NAFTA did.
Under what’s known as NAFTA Chapter 11, companies that believe their profit is affected by a community’s laws that protect workers or regulate pollution, for instance, have won hundreds of millions of dollars by suing the federal government. In one such lawsuit the Canadian company Methanex is seeking $970 million in damages from the United States over California’s ban on a toxic gasoline additive.
Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) proposed an amendment that would keep such Chapter 11 language out of future trade deals but the Senate voted it down.
A procedural move by a Senate majority blocked another amendment strongly supported by labor. Sen. Jon Corzine (D-N.J.) proposed to protect public services from attack in trade agreements. Under FTAA and other pacts, companies and individuals without U.S.-required credentials could set up private schools, health care programs and other services.
Although the issue didn’t make it to the floor, labor leaders said they’re proud of the way working families responded to their call to take part in an innovative electronic campaign in support of the amendment. Within four days, more than 1,200 people in 47 states sent messages to 94 senators. “That shows how quickly we can mobilize and get out our message, and that will be more important than ever in the months to come,” CWA Executive Vice President Larry Cohen said.
Labor leaders are hopeful that a continued push by unions and other opponents can stop fast track altogether once it returns to the full House. Union families are being asked to call, write and e-mail their representatives to urge them to defeat the bill.
There’s reason to be optimistic, leaders said. Lawmakers in both parties have been swayed by public opinion in the trade debate and many senators were undecided on fast track in the days leading up to the Senate vote. “There’s more indecisiveness than I’ve ever seen,” Sen. Byron Dorgan said at a news conference attended by CWA and other unions.
The bill passed 66 to 30, with 25 Democrats and 5 Republicans voting against it. The original bill passed the U.S. House by a single vote last December, and the Senate version will now go to a conference committee to be further revamped. At that point, the full House would have to vote again, giving labor and other opponents another chance to defeat it.
“CWA and the rest of the labor community have worked extremely hard to stop fast track and we will continue to fight it,” CWA President Morton Bahr said, praising union families for heeding the call to contact senators and voice their concerns.
With fast track authority, Bush can negotiate trade deals with no input from Congress beyond a simple vote to accept or reject the pact. One such pact in the works is the 34-country Free Trade Area of the Americas agreement, which has virtually no language protecting workers or the environment.
FTAA would expand the North American Free Trade Agreement to the full Western Hemisphere, except Cuba. Since NAFTA became law in 1994, hundreds of U.S. and Canadian companies have moved their factories to Mexico to escape labor laws and living wages. More than a million Americans have lost their jobs because of NAFTA.
Labor, environmentalists, social justice advocates and others joined forces against fast track, and their concerns led to dozens of proposed amendments. One that passed would give the Senate more authority over portions of trade bills that would weaken existing U.S. trade laws, especially anti-dumping laws.
The Dayton-Craig amendment, brought by Sen. Mark Dayton (D-Minn.) and Sen. Larry Craig (R-Idaho), would allow any senator to ask for a separate vote on a portion of a trade pact that changes trade law — for instance, language that alters tariffs or gives corporations unbridled legal rights, as NAFTA did.
Under what’s known as NAFTA Chapter 11, companies that believe their profit is affected by a community’s laws that protect workers or regulate pollution, for instance, have won hundreds of millions of dollars by suing the federal government. In one such lawsuit the Canadian company Methanex is seeking $970 million in damages from the United States over California’s ban on a toxic gasoline additive.
Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) proposed an amendment that would keep such Chapter 11 language out of future trade deals but the Senate voted it down.
A procedural move by a Senate majority blocked another amendment strongly supported by labor. Sen. Jon Corzine (D-N.J.) proposed to protect public services from attack in trade agreements. Under FTAA and other pacts, companies and individuals without U.S.-required credentials could set up private schools, health care programs and other services.
Although the issue didn’t make it to the floor, labor leaders said they’re proud of the way working families responded to their call to take part in an innovative electronic campaign in support of the amendment. Within four days, more than 1,200 people in 47 states sent messages to 94 senators. “That shows how quickly we can mobilize and get out our message, and that will be more important than ever in the months to come,” CWA Executive Vice President Larry Cohen said.
Labor leaders are hopeful that a continued push by unions and other opponents can stop fast track altogether once it returns to the full House. Union families are being asked to call, write and e-mail their representatives to urge them to defeat the bill.
There’s reason to be optimistic, leaders said. Lawmakers in both parties have been swayed by public opinion in the trade debate and many senators were undecided on fast track in the days leading up to the Senate vote. “There’s more indecisiveness than I’ve ever seen,” Sen. Byron Dorgan said at a news conference attended by CWA and other unions.