(MENAFN- The Journal Of Turkish Weekly) House Democrats on Friday dealt a dramatic blow to President Barack Obama by voting against a trade bill to block another bill in the same package in order to prevent him from bypassing Congress when negotiating trade agreements.
In a 302-126 vote, the House rejected an extension of the Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) that would have provided assistance to workers who lost their jobs as a result of free trade agreements.
Although it has long been a priority for Democrats and unions because of its benefits, 144 Democrat and 158 Republican lawmakers voted against the bill.
Just 40 Democrats and 86 Republicans voted for the bill to be extended, despite ambitious efforts by Obama.
After weeks of lobbying House Democrats, the president paid a surprise visit to lawmakers on Capitol Hill in a last ditch effort to save his trade agenda.
"If TAA slows down the fast track, I'm prepared to vote against TAA," House minority leader Nancy Pelosi of California, a Democrat, said just before the vote.
Democrats supported the bill but ultimately voted against it to prevent passage of another bill, Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) € a "fast track" piece of legislation that allows the president to finalize trade agreements with Pacific Rim nations and the European Union without congressional review.
Under a procedure established for considering the pieces, the two bills were voted on as a package in Congress.
After the TAA vote, House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy said the House would still vote on the TPA bill, along with a separate customs bill.
Lawmakers approved the fast track legislation in a 219-211 vote but it still needs the first part to be passed in order to go to the White House to be signed into law.
The House will bring the TAA bill for another vote by Tuesday.
"Today, Republicans and Democrats in the House of Representatives voted to help the United States negotiate and enforce strong, high-standard trade deals that are good for American workers and good for American businesses. That's a good thing," Obama said in a statement following the vote.
He urged also urged the House to pass the TAA bill as soon as possible.
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