- published: 14 Jun 2015
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'Fast-track' trade bill derailed in House of Representatives in blow to Obama SHOWS: WASHINGTON, D.C., UNITED STATES (JUNE 12, 2015) (HOUSE TV - ACCESS ALL) 1. WIDE OF HOUSE FLOOR 2. (SOUNDBITE) (English) RICK NOLAN- DEMOCRAT FROM MINNESOTA SAYING: "I reviewed the TPP documents and make no mistake about it, this is a race to the bottom. The time has come for Congress to say no to this agreement, the time has come to put an end to them. They have been negotiated in secret for the benefit of a few and kept from the public for the benefit of a few at the top of our economic ladder. The fact is it's destroying the American dream, the American economy, the middle class and with that the American dream." 3. REPRESENTATIVE PETER DEFAZIO APPROACHING PODIUM 4. (SOUNDBITE) (English) PETER DEFAZIO, DEMOCRAT FROM OREGON SAYING: "And now, the last, biggest, worst trade agreement, the Transpacific Partnership, ironically, a key vote will be over something called trade adjustment assistance, yeah that's right, it's critical you have to have that because millions or hundreds of thousands, of Americans are going to lose their jobs, so we need to retrain them for McDonald's or other high level jobs. And secondly, the Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) is funded by cutting medicare, so this is a critical vote. Ironically, this is it. They've got the votes from corporate America and the Obama administration to jam this thing through unless we kill trade Trade Adjustment Assistance. We can stop it here and save America's economy." 5. (SOUNDBITE) (English) PAUL RYAN, REPUBLICAN FROM WISCONSIN SAYING: "The world is watching as to whether or not America is going to lead in the world, whether America in the dawn of the 21st century is going to take command on writing the rules of the global economy or cede that command to other countries. If we establish TPA we are saying on a bi-partisan basis we want America to lead we believe in our country, we believe in our workers, we believe in our economy we want to open up markets so that we can use American ingenuity and American work to create American jobs." 6. (SOUNDBITE) (English) MARCY KAPTUR, DEMOCRAT FROM OHIO SAYING: "I urge no, no, no votes this afternoon, stand up for American workers for a change." 7. (SOUNDBITE) (English) JOHN BOEHNER, SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES SAYING: "We want to make darn sure that there's less authority for the President and more authority for the American people, that's what this bill does. It's a means to an end and the end is more free trade that's good for our economy and good for our country, which brings me to another priority in this bill, and that's American leadership. When America leads, the world is safer, for freedom and free enterprise. And when we don't lead, we're allowing and frankly, essentially, inviting China to right on setting the rules of the world economy, and what that does is keep our workers and our products on the sideline." 8. (SOUNDBITE) (English) NANCY PELOSI, HOUSE MINORITY LEADER SAYING: "For these and other reasons, I will be voting today to slow down the fast track to get a better deal for the American people...bigger pay checks, better infrastructure, help the American people fulfill the American dream." 9. VOTE TALLY OF 302 AGAINST AND 126 IN FAVOR OF THE FAST TRACK TRADE BILL STORY: The U.S. House of Representatives on Friday (June 12) delivered a blow, though perhaps a temporary one, to President Barack Obama's signature goal of strengthening ties with Asia when it defeated one measure, but approved another important to finishing a Pacific Rim trade pact. In a dramatic vote, Obama's own Democrats, as well as Republicans, failed to produce enough support to approve a bill that would have given aid to workers who lose their jobs as a result of U.S. trade deals with other countries. The measure was soundly rejected in a 302-126 vote. That was quickly followed by the House's narrow approval of a separate measure to give Obama "fast-track" authority to negotiate the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal. But the legislation is stuck in the House because of the defeat Obama and House Speaker John Boehner suffered on the first vote. A House Republican aide told reporters that Republican leaders hope to try again Tuesday (June 16) to pass the worker aid portion of the bill, allowing the measure to be signed into law by Obama, but its chances were unclear. Trading partners such as Japan have urged the U.S. Congress to act in order to help wrap up a Pacific Rim trade deal covering 40 percent of the world's economy. FB Gnews: https://goo.gl/Iv3CkE