WASHINGTON
— Supporters of President Barack Obama's trade agenda are scrambling
to keep Senate foes from killing it Thursday before a full-blown debate
even begins.
They need 60 votes in the 100-member Senate to keep a mostly Democratic-driven filibuster from blocking further action.
Obama
wants "fast track" authority to negotiate trade proposals that Congress
can approve or reject, but not change. If he prevails, Obama is
expected to ask Congress to approve a free-trade accord with Japan,
Canada, Mexico and eight other Pacific Rim countries.
The
trade agenda is among Obama's highest second-term priorities. Support
was thought to be higher in the Senate than in the House, which is
awaiting trade action, so a Senate defeat would be especially
embarrassing.
The
politics of trade have been strange from the start. Republican
lawmakers generally support expanded trade deals, but many are loath to
give Obama any new victories.
Most
congressional Democrats and key liberal groups oppose new trade deals,
saying they ship U.S. job overseas. But an uncertain number of House and
Senate Democrats support Obama on trade, and the White House has
lobbied heavily to expand that group.
Senate
critics are attacking the fast-track bill from many sides. Some demand
crackdowns on countries that make their exports more affordable by
keeping the currency artificially low.
Others insist that Congress first deal with pending expirations of a domestic surveillance program and the Export-Import Bank.
Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., spent hours on the Senate floor Wednesday criticizing the surveillance program.
More
troubling to the White House was seeing several fast-track supporters
announce they won't help until Congress lays out a plan to reauthorize
the Ex-Im Bank. The bank helps finance exports for large companies such
as Boeing.
Democratic
Sen. Maria Cantwell of Washington led the effort. But at least one
Republican, Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, joined her.
"Those
who believe in trade are complete hypocrites if they want to defund the
bank," Graham told reporters, "because our domestic manufacturers are
having to compete in developing nations with Ex-Im banks of China,
France, Germany and throughout the world."
Leading
the Senate's fast-track effort is Republican Orrin Hatch of Utah. Asked
if the Ex-Im issue was making it tougher to round up 60 votes, he said:
"Everything here makes it tougher. You just have to go on ahead."
Hatch said he had no reliable nose-count for Thursday's vote.
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