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1st LD: U.S. House fails to adopt trade adjustment assistance bill

Xinhua, June 13, 2015 Adjust font size:

The U.S. House of Representatives on Friday failed to approve the Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) legislation, which would have given aid to U.S. workers who lose their jobs as a result of U.S. trade deals with other countries, delivering a major blow to President Barack Obama 's trade agenda.

The U.S. House rejected the trade measure in 302-126 vote minutes after House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi said on the floor that she would vote against the TAA. "If TAA slows down the fast track, I'm prepared to vote against TAA," she said.

Democrats have traditionally supported the TAA, but are skeptical about the trade promotion authority (TPA) legislation, which would grant the president the fast-track authority to negotiate trade deals that cannot be amended by Congress. Some liberal Democrats argued that voting against the TAA is the only way to stop the authority to negotiate trade deals.

Earlier Friday, Obama traveled to Capitol Hill to lobby members of the House Democratic caucus to back his trade agenda. Asked about the vote, Obama said "I don't think you ever nail anything down around here. It's always moving." Endite