Obama cranks up trade pitch to Dems
President Barack Obama, Vice President Joe Biden and a phalanx of top administration officials are making the sales pitch to congressional Democrats for fast-track authority on trade deals. Obama and Biden each made that plea during their appearances at this weekâs House Democratic retreat in Philadelphia, which ended Friday. Top White House economic adviser Jeffrey Zients, Treasury Secretary Jack Lew, Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker and Labor Secretary Tom Perez have also joined the effort to sway House and Senate Democrats, as well as some skeptical Republicans. Story Continued Below The administration hopes to secure the 30 to 50 Democratic yes votes in the House that might be needed to push a trade bill over the top. But sources have said the White House is still only informally counting votes, and Obama was careful to soften the hard sell during a closed-door meeting with lawmakers here Thursday night. He said the White House âwill make [a] substantive caseâ for a trade deal but wonât âgo after folksâ or make the vote a âlitmus testâ for Democrats, according to sources in the room. âWe share same values and are looking out for the same people,â Obama said in response to a question from Washington Rep. Derek Kilmer, who said he was still undecided despite his stateâs dependence on trade. Obama also pledged to work with House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) so that members have better access to the âsubstance of the agreements,â sources said. Biden also gave a forceful pitch for trade during his closed-door appearance at the retreat Friday. The legislation also has support from the New Democrat Coalition, an alliance of pro-business lawmakers. The group estimates that roughly 30 of its members will ultimately support the fast-track measure, according to a private memo obtained by POLITICO. The coalition isnât creating a whip team to lobby on-the-fence Democrats, though the groupâs chairman, Wisconsin Rep. Ron Kind, said heâs been discussing the merits of trade one-on-one. But a memo circulated by coalition staffers said the group has been urging freshman lawmakers to hold off on signing anti-trade letters from Democratic Reps. Ruben Gallego of Arizona and Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut, two leading critics of the proposed deals. âWorking with the White House and business community, we were able to keep about half of the Dems (including 4 out of the 5 New Dems) to commit to stay off the letter and give the President a chance to make his case,â the memo said. The âtrade promotion authorityâ legislation would expedite the passage of trade deals by letting Obama submit the final agreements to Congress for an up-or-down vote, without amendments. That authority is viewed as key to wrapping up two giant agreements â the Trans-Pacific Partnership with 11 Asia-Pacific countries, and the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership with the 28 nations of the European Union â because other nations would have the assurance that Congress wonât undo any concessions included in the deals. The trade pacts have drawn opposition from liberal groups concerned about their effect on U.S. jobs and wages, labor rights, the environment and intellectual property protections. And House Democrats are deeply divided on giving Obama â or any president â authority to negotiate trade packages without letting Congress amend the terms. Any legislation from Senate Finance Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), top committee Democrat Ron Wyden of Oregon, and House Ways and Means Chairman Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) will probably be unveiled in late February. The Finance Committee is expected to first. Hatch said Friday that the fast-track legislation is the countryâs âmost important tool to open markets.â âThe U.S. needs to lead on trade,â Hatch said in a speech to the American Enterprise Institute. âWe need to establish rules that hold other nations accountable for their unfair trade practices. And we need to tear down barriers that block our goods from foreign markets. We can only do that if we renew TPA and do so soon.â Both opponents and supporters base much of their case on potential growth for the middle class â an issue central to the House Democratsâ de-facto messaging strategy. Supporters argue that the middle class canât expand without the economic growth that comes with free trade, while opponents say wages will drop and jobs go overseas if trade deals donât offer strong protections. âIâm not saying trade is the middle-class issue, but itâs one of the middle-class issues,â said Michigan Rep. Sander Levin, the top Democrat on Ways and Means. He added that members showed âa lot of interestâ in fast-track authority during the retreat, following months of discussions in Washington. âThis is now the main thing going on,â he said. The debate over trade started early during the retreat. AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka railed against the proposals during his headline speech to members Wednesday, and lawmakers held an early-morning panel with DeLauro on trade Thursday. â[The trade proposals are] nothing but a license to continue the same failed trade policies that have emptied America of jobs,â Trumka said, according to sources in the room. âTrade can raise working people up or it can drive us down.â DeLauroâs closed-door panel brought nearly 30 members to debate currency, labor and environmental concerns. A source said the bulk of the lawmakers who spoke expressed support for the administrationâs trade proposal. And lawmakers will be hearing more soon. Kind said Lew will head to the Capitol in coming weeks to brief members on trade, following the nearly two years of meetings theyâve had with Pritzker, Perez and U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman. Some lawmakers have complained that the administrationâs outreach efforts have been superficial. Levin said administration officials have stopped congressional staff from taking notes on the trade proposals, and lawmakers have been barred from taking paperwork from briefings. Some members also criticized an administration email blast that went out after Obamaâs State of the Union address, saying it was too low-key for such a controversial policy. âI wanted to be sure you â¦ saw the latest from the White House â both the State of the Union excerpt and the fact sheet â on the importance of trade agreements to our global competitiveness and economic growth,â an administration official wrote in the email, which was shared with POLITICO. âThe President sees these agreements as essential for the U.S. â not China â to set the rules of the road and lead the way by establishing strong environmental, workplace and labor standards.â Kind said Democrats have to make the case that without a strong U.S. presence in the global trade markets, the world economy could turn toward nations like China. âWe only have one of three options,â Kind said. âContinue the status quo; have a global trading world with a China rule; or us being at the head of the table. Thatâs all we got.â He added that no country is willing to risk signing onto a trade deal that is subject to changes from 435 âindependent contractors,â and that itâs in Democratsâ interest to keep Republicans from playing politics with Obama-forged deals. âYou can complain about TPA all you want, but if you allow a Republican Congress to amend and change â¦ youâre going to end up in a worse position than what you started with,â Kind said. âIt doesnât make sense for a Democratic member to oppose it.â But another Democratic lawmaker who is widely seen as pro-business said he hasnât been convinced either way on trade. The member said it is hard to stomach accepting trade deals that might benefit large corporations that oppose Democratic priorities. âI try to keep an open mind, at least giving them a chance,â the lawmaker said. â[Iâve had] a few meetings at the White House, and labor has put a lot of pressure on folks, but the other part of it is, itâs tough when you have the Chamber of Commerce and these big companies who are perceived to be benefiting from it who wonât even raise the minimum wage.â The Democratic caucusâ anti-trade leaders are searching for moderates to peel away from the White House. DeLauro approaches New Democrat Coalition members each day Congress is in session to ask where they stand and lobby against the deals, multiple members said. DeLauro said the central argument against the deals is that giving U.S. employers easier access to cheap labor markets could drive down American wages. Speaking after her briefing during the retreat, DeLauro said the partyâs focus on âmiddle-class economicsâ for the 2016 elections will make it hard to sell lawmakers on accepting trade packages that could hurt U.S. workers. âCongress can no longer give this administration â or any future one â the benefit of the doubt, especially given the scope of this particular deal,â DeLauro said in a statement with Rep. Louise Slaughter (D-N.Y.) earlier this week. âAmericaâs trade policy has not improved the lives of the middle class and leading economists overwhelmingly agree that trade has contributed to the rise in income inequality.â House Democratic leaders say theyâre keeping an opening mind but that lawmakers will pay close attention to how wage protections are included in any proposal. Pelosi said Friday that she is searching for a âpath to yes.â âI donât know if that possible,â she said. â[But] I think people are open to listening because we are a party of trade and we understand the global economy. â¦ We will make a judgment based on what impact it has on wages.â The anti-trade caucus is bolstered by conservative Republicans who have no intention of handing Obama even more executive authority. Twenty-two Republicans previously signed a letter circulated by Rep. Walter Jones (R-N.C.) that decried the fast-track option as unconstitutional, and while some have since left Congress, the number of GOP lawmakers skeptical of White House overreach has grown. Many Republican lawmakers have said they first need to see the proposal from the Senate and House committees.