US lawmakers extend deadline for TPP-related trade bill
US legislators now have until July 30 to consider fast-track authority for President Obama.
In the latest twist to the TPP saga in Washington DC, the House of Representatives has voted to extend the window for the crucial trade bill.
Legislators voted 236-189 to extend through to July 30 its time-frame for reconsidering the component of trade legislation that would extend a programme of assistance to workers who are determined to have lost their jobs because of production shifts overseas or import competition.
Previously, lawmakers had only until midnight to reconsider the legislation.
Democrats defeated the trade assistance programme last week to bring down connected legislation to provide President Obama with fast-track trade negotiating authority.
Fast-track authority allows the president to submit trade deals to Congress for an up-or-down vote, without amendments.
The authority is seen as key to securing the Trans Pacific Partnership pact between the US and 11 other countries around the Pacific Ocean.
The extended deadline will give the bill’s Republican supporters more flexibility as they try to clear a path forward for the trade legislation.
But there’s no guarantee this will occur before the Congress goes into its summer recess trade in August.
“Getting the trade bill finished is a large priority of mine,” Republican House Speaker John Boehner says.
“The president and I had a conversation yesterday. As a matter of fact we had several conversations yesterday, trying to find a way to move ahead.”
But Mr Boehner says no decisions have been made yet on a path forward for the trade legislation.
Nevil Gibson
Wed, 17 Jun 2015
Wed, 17 Jun 2015
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US lawmakers extend deadline for TPP-related trade bill
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