[NYT] JUL 31, 2001 Bush Fails to Win Support On Hill for 'Fast Track' Trade By ALISON MITCHELL
WASHINGTON, July 31 - Saying they did not have enough votes to prevail this week on President Bush's top trade priority, Republican leaders of the House today postponed until the fall the effort to grant the president broad authority to negotiate new trade agreements.
The delay on the contentious issue of trade bought the administration time for more negotiations with moderate Democrats whose support will be critical for its success in the House. And it allowed Republicans to focus all their might on getting votes for the president's energy plan and a patient's bill of rights as Congress pushes toward a summer recess.
"The long and short of it is we don't have enough Democratic votes," said Representative Dick Armey of Texas, the House majority leader, as he announced that the Republicans had dropped plans to hold the trade vote this week.
Mr. Bush, like President Bill Clinton before him, is seeking the power to negotiate free trade agreements that could not be amended by the Senate. Once such trade pacts have been concluded with another country, the Senate's only role would be to approve them or reject them on an up-or-down vote.
Mr. Bush, a fierce proponent of such trade authority, said last week that he wanted Congress to act "pretty darn quickly." But in a meeting with a key Republican he also modified that stance, saying he considered it crucial to have additional powers to negotiate trade deals in time for a World Trade Organization conference in Qatar in November which could start a new round of global trade talks.
Last week, Mr. Bush argued that he needed the trade authority "for the good of the American people, for the good of the agricultural sector, so I can use my efforts to knock down the trade barriers, the protectionist tendencies around the world that prevent our products from getting into markets."
But the difficulties he faces were on full display even as the House approved by voice vote a trade pact with Jordan today. Democrats used the debate to voice their distrust of the Bush administration's willingness to push for labor and environmental protections as part of trade agreements. And the Jordan bill is stalled in the Senate because Republicans believe it goes too far in its consideration of labor and environmental issues.