Crs Report for Congress

Download or read book Crs Report for Congress written by Congressional Research Service: The Libr and published by BiblioGov. This book was released on 2013-11 with total page 22 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: One of the major trade issues in the 107th Congress is whether or not Congress approves trade promotion authority (formerly called fast-track authority) for the President to negotiate trade agreements with expedited procedures for implementing legislation. Under this authority, Congress agrees to consider legislation to implement the trade agreements (usually nontariff trade agreements) under a procedure with mandatory deadlines, no amendment, and limited debate. The President is required to consult with congressional committees during negotiation and notify Congress before entering into an agreement. The President was granted this authority almost continuously from 1974 to 1994, but the authority lapsed and has not been renewed. A major issue has been the role of labor and the environment as objectives in trade agreements. Differences have been largely along party lines. On December 6, the House passed TPA bill H.R. 3005 along party lines by a vote of 215-214. The bill covers tariff and nontariff agreements entered into by June 1, 2005. For expedited procedures to apply to legislation to implement a trade agreement, the agreement would have to "make progress" toward meeting the outlined negotiating objectives and satisfy other specified conditions. The President would have to consult with congressional bodies, including the ...