Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/723444
ByKevinFreking The Associated Press WASHINGTON Despitefor- midable opposition across the political spectrum, President Barack Obama is using his final months in of- fice to fight for congressio- nal approval of a 12-nation free trade pact called the Trans-Pacific Partnership. Obama plugged the trade agreement Monday in China, saying it is "in- disputable that it would cre- ate a better deal for us than the status quo." He said he doesn't have to sell the deal to Asian leaders who were part of the negotiations be- cause "they see this as the right thing to do for their own countries." At home, presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump bash the agreement and public opin- ion polls show voters closely divided on its merits. A survey by the Pew Re- search Center estimated that 39 percent of regis- tered voters view TPP as a bad thing for the United States and 37 percent con- sider it a good thing, hardly the kind of numbers that would inspire Congress to heed the president's call. Where things stand on the agreement and Obama's effort: WillCongressvote? It's hard to argue with House Speaker Paul Ry- an's assessment that TPP doesn't have the votes to pass. Throw in Senate Ma- jority Leader Mitch McCo- nnell's statement that the Senate would not take up the agreement this year and TPP's prospects look dismal. Last year, the House barely passed legislation establishing a streamlined process for approving TPP, called "fast-track," but the details of the actual agree- ment were not made public until November. Since then, about a dozen Republicans who voted for the fast-track process have switched and said they oppose the deal, seemingly eliminating a narrow cushion of support. That leaves the admin- istration and other TPP supporters with a tough task. The ripest recruiting grounds: 50 GOP lawmak- ers who voted against fast- track. Many consider them- selves free-traders but voted no for separate reasons. The fight in the Senate could be easier since sup- porters only need a simple majority for passage rather than the 60 votes usually needed for advancing leg- islation. Business groups that want the agreement ap- proved used the August re- cess to lobby lawmakers and their staffs. Foes of TPP have been heartened by the dire talk from congressional leaders. But many suspect a vote is looming. Witness the fund- raising pitch from the po- litically active nonprofit launched by Sen. Bernie Sanders, a Vermont inde- pendent who tells potential donors that "we will have a very, very narrow window" to defeat TPP in the lame- duck session after the elec- tions. Pathway for passage The top concern of law- makers is that the protec- tion of clinical testing data for certain drugs made from living organisms, called biologics, falls short of the 12 years required by U.S. law. TPP requires countries to provide eight years of data protection, and pos- sibly only five if they take other steps. Led by Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah, the Republican chairman of the Senate Fi- nance Committee, lawmak- ers want the U.S. standards to prevail. The Obama ad- ministration will try to work out some language during September and Oc- tober that satisfy Hatch's concerns, though any in- sistence that countries ac- cept a baseline closer to the U.S. standard could prompt other nations to walk. Hatch also insists that participating countries pro- vide the U.S. with roadmaps for how they intend to im- plement the agreement. The Obama administration has sent negotiators to begin that work. Eventually, the adminis- tration will send draft legis- lation to Congress with the changes in U.S. law needed to enact the trade deal. Given the political winds, it probably won't happen un- til after the election. Sealing the deal The president's case for TPP emphasizes two points: First, he says it's good for the economy because it eliminates thousands of tariffs that will lower the price for American-made goods and services. Second, it's good for U.S. national security because it demonstrates America's commitment to being a Pa- cific power. While the ad- ministration has been mak- ing both cases from the get- go, the closing argument for TPP increasingly has taken a national security empha- sis. Deputy national secu- rity adviser Ben Rhodes said TPP is a "litmus test for whether or not the U.S. has staying power in this region." Will TPP endure? It's not obvious how it could survive, given both candidates say they op- pose TPP, but history has shown that opposition dur- ing the heat of a campaign can turn to support if the right changes are made. Obama said ratifying trade deals in the U.S. is never smooth, but eventually they get done. In his first presidential campaign, Obama said he opposed a free-trade agree- ment with South Korea. He said it didn't do enough to require Korea to open its markets to American- made cars, rice and beef. But nearly three years later, Congress passed a trade agreement with South Ko- rea that Obama called "a win for both our countries." WASHINGTON Obama makes trade deal top priority in remaining months NGHANGUAN—THEASSOCIATEDPRESS President Barack Obama chats with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, le , as they and other leaders arrive for a family photo at the Xizi hotel in Hangzhou in eastern China's Zhejiang province on Sunday. By Matthew Daly The Associated Press WASHINGTON An election- year bill to fulfill a 70-year- old government promise and protect health-care and pension benefits for retired miners is dividing coal-state Republicans, pit- ting endangered incum- bents against GOP leaders wary of bailing out union workers. Retirement and health- care funds currently sup- port about 120,000 former miners and their families nationwide. But account balances have dwindled amid continued layoffs and bankruptcy filings as the coal industry struggles against competition from cheaper natural gas and tightening environmental regulations. The bill would ensure that retired miners receive hundreds of millions of dol- lars in benefits now at risk amid the industry's steep decline. Without congres- sional intervention, some of the funds could run out of cash by next year, according to the United Mine Workers of America. "These folks spent their whole lives going under- ground and mining the coal that made this coun- try what it is today. They en- ergized this nation for de- cades and through today," said Phil Smith, a spokes- man for the UMW, which has pushed for the bill. In 1946, President Harry S. Truman brokered an agreement to guarantee miners' lifetime health and retirement benefits, a move that averted a lengthy strike. Thousands of retired miners and their support- ers are expected to gather at the Capitol Thursday to push for the bill, which they describe as a life-sav- ing measure that honors the pact made by the fed- eral government. The bill would affect more than 30,000 retired miners in West Virginia, and tens of thousands more in Pennsyl- vania, Kentucky, Ohio, Illi- nois, Indiana, Virginia and Alabama. Republican Sens. Rob Portman of Ohio and Mark Kirk of Illinois — both in tough re-elections in two months — back the legis- lation, but face resistance from Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky. McConnell, a staunch defender of his home state's coal industry, blocked the pension mea- sure last year and says he's not going to fast-track a plan that some Republicans warn amounts to a bailout. "There are hundreds of private-sector pension plans in critical, endan- gered or declining status throughout America to- day," Sen. Mike Enzi, R- Wyo., chairman of the Sen- ate Budget Committee, said earlier this year. "So I'm not sure how Congress would help the United Mine Workers and not the oth- ers. Where do we draw the line?" Wyoming is the nation's top coal producer — mainly from non-union plants — and Enzi said the bill would "do absolutely nothing for miners who are not mem- bers" of the UMW. Nearly 11,000 coal workers have lost jobs in the last year, ac- cording to the Bureau of La- bor Statistics, and the pen- sion bill "wouldn't help put those folks back to work," Enzi said. Portman calls the bill a matter of fairness. "These are people who not just power our country but power their communi- ties," said Portman, who has been endorsed by the mine workers union as he faces a challenge from for- mer Democratic Gov. Ted Strickland. In Pennsylvania, Sen. Pat Toomey, another endan- gered Republican, declined to comment, although his Democratic challenger, Ka- tie McGinty, supports the bill. "Our nation owes every single coal miner a debt of gratitude for staring down risks and helping meet our energy needs," McGinty said. She called on Con- gress to ensure "America's coal miners get the digni- fied, secure retirement they deserve." A spokesman for McCo- nnell said the senator "has been and remains commit- ted to helping ensure the retirement security of our nation's retirees, including coal miners." McConnell "continues to believe this issue deserves an open, transparent de- bate through regular order," spokesman Robert Steurer said, noting that the Sen- ate Finance Committee is expected to vote on the bill later this month. At least nine Senate Re- publicans, including Fi- nance Chairman Orrin Hatch of Utah, support the bill, along with nearly all Senate Democrats. Sen. Sherrod Brown, D- Ohio, said McConnell has blocked the bill "because he doesn't like the United Mine Workers union," which endorsed McCon- nell's Democratic opponent, Alison Grimes, in the 2014 election. LABOR ISSUE Bill to shield retired miners causes division among coal-state Republicans JOE MAIORANA — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE Ohio coal miners head into the mine for a shi inside the Hopedale Mine near Cadiz, Ohio. 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