House Blocks Trade Package for Now!

**UPDATE: RE-VOTE ON STAND ALONE FAST TRACK BILL SCHEDULED FOR 8 AM PST, THURSDAY JUNE 18. CONTACT CONGRESS NOW!**

Despite intense pressure from the White House, on Friday, June 12, the US House of Representatives rejected the fast track/TAA trade package… for now. This is a time to celebrate, but we’re not quite done yet! A re-vote could happen this week.

Let’s make sure this defeat stands. It is crucial that your Representative hear from you. Look up how your Representative voted, send an email to them now with this handy tool and call them at 202.224.3121.

Unsure what happened on Friday?  Here’s the quick version:

While the House narrowly passed the Fast Track bill (219-211), the Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) Bill was soundly rejected (126-302). Because the two bills were tied together in the Senate version, Fast Track will not advance at this time. Voting “No” on the TAA bill, a program that retrains workers who lose their jobs due to our trade policy and generally supported by Democrats, was characterized by House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi as a vote to “slow down Fast Track,” which she argued had insufficient protections for workers’ rights and environmental protection and called on other Democrats to oppose. This weekend, Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton echoed some of these concerns as well. Read a full explanation of Friday’s vote at the Stand.

TAA could be reconsidered as early as tomorrow (June 16th) or we may see a different but similar package face another vote in the House and in the Senate. For a more detailed look at the options that
Fast Track is facing, check out this article from Politico.

As long as they are packaged, a vote for TAA is now a vote for Fast Track. Because of this, Washington Fair Trade Coalition and our allies are urging Congress to vote against fast track and TAA if a re-vote happens this week.

As our friends at the Washington State Labor Council have said, “While we have long supported TAA–we prefer jobs,” and TAA is being used as a ploy to get Fast Track, which destroys jobs.

Please take a moment to thank Congressman McDermott for standing with workers, communities, the environment, and thousands of public interest organizations and businesses by voting against the entire trade package on Friday.

Please take a moment to thank Congressmen Smith and Heck for voting against Fast Track and to stand with us again by also voting against TAA if it comes up for a vote this week.

All of the US Representatives can be reached at the DC switchboard (202-224-3121)