国际英语新闻:Obama: Failed Trade Bill Hurts US Workers

CAPITOL HILL—President Barack Obama says the failure of the House of Representatives to pass a measure to help American workers affected by global trade pacts will “directly hurt about 100,000 workers and their communities.”

"For the sake of those workers, their families, and their communities, I urge those members of Congress who voted against Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) to reconsider and stand up for American workers," the president said Saturday in his weekly address.

The president’s ambitious Asia-Pacific free trade agenda was dealt a serious blow Friday when the House of Representatives voted against the part of the trade package that would have given aid to workers who lost their jobs as a result of U.S. trade deals.

Obama’s fellow Democrats, as well as Republicans, voted the measure down 302-126.

Even though lawmakers went on to narrowly approve so-called fast-track authority for Obama to negotiate the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) deal, the overall vote is far from a victory for the president. Republican lawmakers say they will try to bring the workers aid portion up for a new vote Tuesday.

Many Democrats are concerned TPP would send more American jobs overseas and hurt the environment. The workers' aid piece was initially included to appease Democrats and Mr. Obama went to Capitol Hill Friday morning to make a last minute appeal to key Democratic legislators.

Even so, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said she would oppose the legislation. Following the vote, she said in a statement that is time for both parties to negotiate a better deal for the American people."

"We look forward to working in a bipartisan way for a trade promotion authority bill that has better transparency, more consultation with Congress and stronger protections for congressional priorities — especially labor rights and the environment."

On the Republican side, House Speaker John Boehner, who supported the measure, said he was disappointed.

"Republicans did our part, and we remain committed to free trade because it is critical to creating jobs and growing our economy," he said. "This is an opportunity for the Democratic Party to take stock and move forward in a constructive fashion on behalf of the American people.”

Most Republicans support free-trade agreements and therefore agreed with Obama, whom they oppose on most issues. But some tea party Republicans opposed giving the president more power to negotiate trade agreements, and were aligned with progressive Democrats on this issue.

A broad coalition of labor unions, environmentalists and others had pushed hard against the trade agenda for months, with some Democrats saying the president had failed to convince them.

Representative Brad Sherman of California said, “Well, obviously he thinks this trade deal will help the American economy and help working families. The vast majority of Democrats and 100 percent of all those organizations of working people disagree.”