Wyden to back Senate bill as ‘trade done right’
Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden, D-Ore., today announced Monday he will support moving forward on trade legislation that the Senate will consider this week.
“The trade package currently before the Senate is a blueprint for trade done right,” Wyden said. “It will make our country stronger by opening new markets to American products and creating new opportunities for good-paying American jobs.
“Taken together, this is the most progressive trade package ever produced. I spent months negotiating this deal because it is in our country’s best interest. It includes a Trade Promotion Authority bill that creates unprecedented transparency and raises the bar on human rights, labor, and the environment, while promoting the open Internet. It includes a tough bill that beefs up trade enforcement and cracks down on trade cheats; and it expands support for workers through Trade Adjustment Assistance and the health coverage tax credit.
“I held round-the-clock discussions with the Senate Majority Leader, the Speaker of the House and leading Democrats over the past week. We urged Republican leaders to include Senator Brown’s trade enforcement bill as a sign of good faith that Republican leaders will do what is necessary to ensure the entire trade package gets done, and I remain committed to seeing all four bills enacted into law. I plan to support the continued advancement of the trade package tomorrow.”
The Senate is expected to take a procedural vote Tuesday on Trade Promotion Authority, which instructs the president on congressional trade priorities in exchange for rules that allow Congress to consider trade agreements in a timely manner.
The Senate is also expected to consider a bill that renews and expands Trade Adjustment Assistance to support worker training, as well as trade preferences for a number of countries in the developing world.
