[last paragraph...] Senate defeats worker benefit amendments to trade fast-track bill Tue May 21, 4:27 PM ET By JIM ABRAMS, Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON - With the White House waiting impatiently, the Senate voted down amendments Tuesday that would have complicated passage of a major trade bill, including health benefits for retired steelworkers. Vice President Dick Cheney (news - web sites), in the Capitol for lunch with Senate Republicans, stepped in in his capacity as president of the Senate to break a 49-49 tie and defeat another worker benefit amendment, this one by Republican Sen. George Allen (news, bio, voting record) of Virginia, to provide low-interest loans to help trade-displaced workers with their mortgages. Senate supporters looked to a final vote as early as Thursday on the bill, which would give the president authority to negotiate global trade agreements subject to yes-or-no votes but no changes by Congress. Congress has denied this power to the president since 1994. Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., a chief sponsor, predicted passage with as many as 70 votes for the final package, which includes new benefits for workers laid off because of foreign competition and low tariffs for four South American countries. First, the Senate must wade through several other amendments seen as possible threats to the delicate compromise reached between supporters of free trade and those intent on helping workers harmed by trade. The final product goes to negotiations with the House, which passed its version in December by one vote. The White House has threatened a veto if the final bill should include one already-approved Senate amendment, which would give Congress the power to exclude from fast-track procedures any language in trade agreements that would weaken U.S. trade protection laws. Supporters of an amendment giving health benefits to steelworkers forced to retire when their plants close due to imports fell just four short of the 60 needed to end a filibuster. The measure, sponsored by Sens. John D. Rockefeller, D-W.Va.; Barbara Mikulski, D-Md.; and Paul Wellstone, D-Minn., would have given retired steelworkers refundable tax credits to cover 70 percent of health insurance for a year. The bill already provides similar health benefits for other workers who lose their jobs because of trade. "I don't know that there is a more important issue as it relates to the well-being of workers who are vulnerable," said Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, D-S.D. Sen. Don Nickles (news, bio, voting record), R-Okla., characterized such spending programs as ransom for accepting fast-track trading authority. Sen. Charles Grassley (news, bio, voting record), R-Iowa, co-sponsor of the package with Baucus, warned: "If we want trade promotion authority to go to the president, we don't upset that very balanced compromise." White House press secretary Ari Fleischer (news - web sites) said Tuesday the fast-track bill is among several important measures languishing in the Senate. He expressed concern that the Andean nations Colombia, Peru, Bolivia and Ecuador will lose low tariffs they have enjoyed the past decade if the bill does not move to the president for his signature. The Senate also was to take up a contentious measure to ensure that foreign investors don't have greater legal rights than U.S. citizens. The amendment, introduced by Sen. John Kerry (news, bio, voting record), D-Mass., would change a law, part of the North American Free Trade Agreement, that he said has encouraged foreign investors to file lawsuits contesting federal and state environmental and public health laws. Under NAFTA, investors can claim that such laws, when they affect their profit margins, are the same as an expropriation of private property, for which they deserve compensation. The consumer advocacy group Public Citizen said foreign investors already have made claims totaling more than $1.8 billion. Kerry's amendment would ensure that trade agreements give Americans the same legal rights as foreign investors and say compensation is not required for laws that merely lower the value of private property. Sen. Phil Gramm (news, bio, voting record), R-Texas, said the Kerry language is opposed strongly by U.S. business groups because it could result in foreign countries reciprocating by reducing protections for U.S. investors. The NAFTA provision is an irritant in this country, he said, but eliminating it "would destroy the protections we have in other countries that are a necessity."
