Washington Post | September 14, 2001
A key House Republican said yesterday that he has reached "virtual agreement" with Democrats on a bill to give President Bush the authority to negotiate broad trade pacts.
Ways and Means Committee Chairman Bill Thomas (R-Calif.) told reporters that the deal has not been sealed but that he expects the House to approve the proposed "trade promotion authority" for Bush in the coming weeks.
"We have had a temporary setback on the schedule" because of the deadly attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, Thomas said. "But from a working document point of view, from an agreement point of view, from a content point of view, I believe we are in virtual agreement."
The White House has not had trade promotion authority -- also known as "fast track" -- since it expired in 1994 because of sharp disagreements between Republicans and Democrats over the need for labor and environmental protections in trade pacts. Thomas did not say how those issues were resolved.
Taking issue with Thomas's "virtual agreement," however, was Rep. Sander M. Levin (Mich.), the ranking Democrat on the Ways and Means trade panel, who was critical of Thomas's timing and his negotiations with "a handful of Democrats."
"This is the wrong approach at the wrong time," Levin said. "It's wrong substantively, and it's wrong in terms of what this nation faces at the moment."
Under a fast-track arrangement, Congress would give up its right to amend a trade agreement negotiated by the executive branch; it would agree, instead, to vote yes or no within a specified period on whether to approve the pact as a whole. Supporters say that, without the legislation, countries would not negotiate seriously with the United States because Congress could change any agreement.
Staff writer Paul Blustein contributed to this report.Washington Post:
