But the protests that punctuated Tuesday's Senate Finance Committee vote suggested that some lawmakers could pay a price at the voting booths in 2012 when the next elections are held. Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D., Mont.) had to put the session on hold while police escorted protesters out of the hearing room—and even then, the disruptions continued.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203499704576625543532685026.html Senate Panel Clears Korea, Colombia, Panama Trade Pacts By SIOBHAN HUGHES OCTOBER 11, 2011, 7:13 P.M. ET WASHINGTON—The Senate Finance Committee on Tuesday approved trade deals with South Korea, Colombia and Panama, brushing aside opposition from labor unions and some manufacturers in an effort to ratify pacts first negotiated more than four years ago. The panel cleared the Colombia pact 18-6 and approved the other two deals by voice vote. The deals are forecast to generate $13 billion a year in exports and are expected to clear both the House and the Senate on Wednesday. The trade agreements have been cast by both the Obama administration and congressional leaders as a way to boost the U.S. economy. Republicans and Democrats have been fighting for years over the trade deals, reflecting longstanding tension over whether phasing out tariffs winds up boosting growth or costing U.S. jobs. Unions are coming out against the trade pacts, and have stepped up a lobbying campaign since President Barack Obama submitted the agreements to Congress last week. Democratic lawmakers began showing more support for the trade pacts since the deals have been reworked. A final breakthrough came when Republican leaders agreed to go along with the renewal of a worker-retraining program that helps workers who lose jobs because of overseas competition. The program, known as Trade Adjustment Assistance, would be scaled back after a 2009 expansion as some Republicans complain that the assistance is a waste of money. But the protests that punctuated Tuesday's Senate Finance Committee vote suggested that some lawmakers could pay a price at the voting booths in 2012 when the next elections are held. Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D., Mont.) had to put the session on hold while police escorted protesters out of the hearing room—and even then, the disruptions continued. Sen. John Kerry (D., Mass.) at one point appeared to address the audience directly, saying that "these agreements are fairly one-sided in our favor—they actually open up markets that are closed to us." He added that "these agreements actually create jobs for Americans." "That's not what the International Trade Commission said," replied a man who later identified himself as Robert Naiman, policy director for Just Foreign Policy. "The tariff cuts alone in the U.S.-South Korea trade agreements could increase exports of American goods by $10 billion to $11 billion," Mr. Kerry continued. "What about imports?" replied Mr. Naiman, who managed to keep his voice just low enough to avoid being escorted out of the room. Mr. Naiman later added: "Workers supported you, Sen. Kerry. Why aren't you listening to workers now?" -- Robert Naiman Policy Director Just Foreign Policy www.justforeignpolicy.org [email protected] _______________________________________________ pen-l mailing list [email protected] https://lists.csuchico.edu/mailman/listinfo/pen-l
