U.S. Michael Bennet is being targeted by Republicans ahead of the 2016 election. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
WASHINGTON — Negotiators of a major trade deal were dealt a significant setback Tuesday after Senate Democrats — including Michael Bennet of Colorado — that would have given President Barack Obama more power to set the terms of international agreements.
The issue has divided Democrats in recent months, with Obama lobbying for passage and fellow party members, including Minority Leader Harry Reid, angling to stop it. Traditional Democratic allies, including unions and environmentalists, also have called on Congress to kill the so-called “fast track” legislation because of fears of pollution and lost jobs.
At its core, the fast-track measure would empower Obama to negotiate trade deals with foreign governments and afterward send the proposal to Congress for a simple yes-or-no vote. That authority is considered crucial for the passage of complicated deals because it prevents Congress from debating to death these trade agreements.
It “gives our nation’s negotiators the chance to strike the best deals possible for American workers while still giving Congress the chance to vote yes or no on any final agreement,” said U.S. Sen. Cory Gardner, R-Colo., in a statement.
Obama has pushed for this power so that he can more easily gain acceptance for an upcoming trade deal with 11 other Pacific Rim countries called the Trans-Pacific Partnership.
Yet in spite of rare support from Senate Republicans, Obama has been unable to convince fellow Democrats to support the legislation.
At least not yet.
Several Democrats, including Bennet, have said to give Obama that power as long as Congress also agrees to related bills that would add more protections for U.S. workers and the environment. Indeed, Bennet supported that kind of package last month as a member of the Senate Finance Committee.
But those additional bills were not part of what the Senate had on the table Tuesday, which is why Bennet said he joined with his Democratic colleagues in blocking the fast-track legislation.
“The proposal on the Senate floor did not include those measures,” he said in a statement. “The Senate should have a chance to debate and vote on all of the pieces of the Finance Committee’s trade package.”
National Republicans, however, were not convinced. They accused Bennet of flip-flopping on the issue to .
“Time and again we’ve seen that Senator Bennet values partisanship and special interests more than he values representing Colorado,” said Matt Connelly, a spokesman for the National Republican Senatorial Committee, in a statement.
“If Senator Bennet is the Democratic nominee for Senate in 2016, Coloradans will hold him accountable for putting Washington first and Colorado last.”
