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Isakson tries to reassure GOP on trade bill

by Bernie Becker - 05/02/15 6:00 AM ET

Sen. Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.) sought to assuage conservative concerns about a trade bill that’s a top priority for both President Obama and GOP leaders in his party’s weekly address.

Isakson made the case that giving Obama “fast-track” authority on trade wouldn’t be giving too much power to a president that many conservatives believe is guilty of executive overreach.

Under fast-track authority, lawmakers aren’t allowed to amend trade deals sent up to Congress. That’s seen as crucial to completing the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a massive agreement between the U.S., Japan and 10 other Asian economies.

{mosads}“Congress still has the final say in approving a trade agreement. And I want to be very clear — this legislation does not guarantee approval of any proposed trade agreement,” said Isakson, a member of the Senate committee that oversees trade policy.

“Every trade agreement will still be scrutinized by your representatives and by the senators in Congress.”

Isakson’s address is only the latest element of a concerted public relations effort from Obama and senior Republicans on trade. Both the president and House Ways and Means Chairman Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) used their parties’ addresses a week ago to lobby for the trade deal, making it a rare weekend when Republicans and Democrats were pushing for the same end result.

But fast-track, formally known as trade promotion authority, still faces plenty of obstacles on Capitol Hill. Democrats, feeling burned by past trade deals like the North American Free Trade Agreement, are mostly opposed to the deal.

Republicans like Ryan and Isakson have intensified their efforts to convince their GOP colleagues that fast-track wouldn’t give Obama too much power.

“Republicans will not support any attempt to override U.S. law by sneaking extra provisions into any trade agreement. That includes provisions on immigration policies,” Isakson said in the weekly address.

“Trade promotion authority does not give any president any new authority to expand immigration or change other laws without the approval of the Congress of the United States. Trade should not be — nor is it ever intended to be — a partisan issue,” he added.

Isakson also insisted that a new trade deal wouldn’t hurt the middle-class, a common criticism of previous trade deals. The Georgia Republican used an example from his home state — the expansion of the Savannah Harbor — to illustrate the benefits of trade.

TPA, Isakson said, is “going to expand trade and expand opportunity for the American people.”

“This is going to ensure that America — not China or any other country — is at the forefront of writing the global rules of economy and trade in the world,” he added. “And it is going to empower America through jobs and economic growth.”

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