Tuesday, May 12, 2015

Lame Duck: Democrats Block Obama's Trade Deal

The end is near...

Via Washington Times
Senate Democrats filibustered Tuesday to block the first major free-trade vote in years, dealing a blow to President Obama and GOP leaders who were pushing a deal in a rare show of bipartisanship, but who once again find themselves struggling with the political fringe.
Unlike the last few years’ worth of conservative objections, this time it was liberals who balked and pulled moderate Democrats with them, putting the brakes on the bipartisan push and imperiling the rest of the spring congressional agenda.
The White House said the filibuster was only a “procedural snafu” and urged GOP leaders in Congress to work it out differences with the moderate Democrats, who are insisting that any free trade legislation be coupled with other bills including customs enforcement, which contains a provision punishing other countries deemed guilty of manipulating their currencies for trade advantages.

No comments: