BREAKING NEWS: Senate Passes Procedural vote on TPP Fast Track – 60 – 37

Andrew Pontbriand http://resistancejournals.com

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(Washington) – President Obama’s fast-track trade bill cleared a key procedural hurdle Tuesday in the Senate, all but ensuring it will win final passage this week and be sent to the White House for his signature.

Despite deep reservations from many in the president’s party, enough Democratic senators appear ready to join most Republicans to finish the legislation, which has sputtered in Congress but is a top White House priority.

A last-minute flip-flop from Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), who announced Tuesday morning he would now oppose the bill because it had become tangled in Washington “deal-making,” did not upend the vote. Senators agreed 60-37 to advance the measure.

“With just a little more trust, a little more cooperation, and simply voting consistently, we’ll get there,” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said earlier this week. “We shouldn’t let this opportunity for significant bipartisan achievement slip past us.” A final vote is likely for Wednesday.

The politics of the trade vote have divided both parties, but especially Democrats, who worry it will cost American jobs. Earlier this month in a rare rebuke of Obama, House Democrats blocked an earlier version of the fast-track measure from advancing. But days later, House Republicans passed a new fast-track bill and sent it back to the Senate.

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Filed under: Media Tagged: Authority, Fast Track, obama, Senate, TPA, TPP, trade