WASHINGTON (AP) – Emotional disagreements over trade erupted in Congress on Wednesday, when a liberal senator postponed a committee’s likely endorsement of a top trade priority for President Barack Obama.
The day began with Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, predicting a “strong bipartisan vote” for “fast track” legislation. The measure would renew presidential authority to present trade deals that Congress can endorse or reject but not amend.
But liberal Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., a fierce opponent of the trade legislation, invoked a Senate scheduling rule to postpone the committee’s actions for hours.
“This job-killing trade deal has been negotiated in secret,” said Sanders, who made a lengthy Senate speech denouncing the legislation. “It was drafted with input by special interests and corporate lobbyists, but not from the elected representatives of the American people.”
Hatch rejected the claims, saying fast track and other trade proposals have been carefully negotiated and will undergo long public scrutiny.