[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 72 (Tuesday, May 12, 2015)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2785-S2787]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                             CLOTURE MOTION

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, the time until 2:30 
p.m. will be equally divided in the usual form.
  The Senator from Colorado.
  Mr. GARDNER. Thank you, Mr. President.
  In just a few minutes, we will be holding a vote on whether to invoke 
cloture to cut off debate and move to the trade promotion authority 
bill, granting trade promotion authority to the President--a very 
important conversation this country needs to have in terms of what we 
are going to do to expand our opportunities in a region of the world 
that represents 50 percent of the population of this world and that 
represents 40 percent of our trade opportunities. It is a great 
opportunity for this Congress, this Senate, to show how serious we are 
about truly rebalancing our efforts with Asian nations.
  In Colorado alone, we exported nearly $8.4 billion in goods in 2014. 
In Colorado, 48 percent of all goods were exported in 2014.
  Over 260,000 jobs are derived from trade with nations represented by 
the Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiating group. The TPP represents an 
opportunity for Colorado to create nearly 4,000 new jobs, and that is 
just a start.
  So today's conversation is not just a vote on whether we will have 
more delay on an important bill; this is about something that 
represents far greater opportunity than that. The fact is, over the 
past several years we have focused our time on the Middle East, and 
rightfully so, but as our day-to-day attention gets grabbed by the 
Middle East, our long-term interests lie in Asia and the Trans-Pacific 
Partnership region.
  So I hope today that Members will put aside tendencies to decide they 
want to play politics with the trade promotion authority and instead, 
indeed, pursue policies that will give us a chance to grow our economy, 
to make more products representative with the symbol and the label 
``Made in America.'' That is the chance we have today--to give our 
workers a competitive advantage, to create an opportunity for increased 
trade in an area of the world where we face increasing competition and 
regional threats, to show that the United States will indeed be a part 
of a region in the world that represents so much opportunity.
  As we have seen increases in Colorado and beyond in trade and trade 
opportunities, this bill represents a chance for us to continue 
improving our ability to grow Colorado's economy and Colorado trade.
  So to our colleagues across the Senate, I indeed hope that we will 
invoke cloture today, that we will move forward on debate, and that we 
will have an opportunity to continue our work to support trade and to 
move toward passage of the final TPP.
  Thank you, Mr. President.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Ohio.
  Mr. BROWN. Thank you, Mr. President.
  The trade package we are considering today is missing important 
provisions that support American companies and American workers. We 
cannot have trade promotion without trade enforcement. Even supporters 
of fast-track and TPP--those cheerleaders, the most outspoken 
cheerleaders for free trade--even those supporters acknowledge there 
will be winners and losers from this agreement.
  Past deals show how widespread the losses will be. Travel the State 
the Presiding Officer and I represent in the Senate and look at what 
NAFTA has done, look at what PNTR with China has done, look at what the 
Central America Free Trade Agreement has done, and look at what the 
South Korea trade agreement has done to us.
  It would be a tragedy if the Senate acted and failed to help the 
American companies and the American workers and the communities that we 
acknowledge will be hurt by TPP. In other words, we take an action in 
this body, working with the administration, and there are losers and 
winners from this action. The losers are those who lose their jobs, the 
small businesses that go out of business, and the communities that get 
hurt by this. Those are the losers. How do you ignore them when it 
comes to these trade agreements?
  By excluding two of the four bills from the initial trade package, we 
are excluding critical bipartisan provisions that protect workers and 
ensure strong trade enforcement.
  We need to make sure that our steel manufacturers and other companies 
in our country are protected from unfair dumping. That is why I 
introduced--along with my colleagues, Senators Portman, Casey, Burr, 
Bennet, and Coats--the Leveling the Playing Field Act. We included it 
in the Customs and Border Protection reauthorization with bipartisan 
support. It would strengthen enforcement of trade laws. It would 
increase the ability of industries--such as the steel industry, which 
is so important in my State--to fight back against unfair trade 
practices. It passed the Senate Finance Committee, but in the majority 
leader's package and Senator Hatch's package, it is nowhere to be found 
on the floor today.
  We need to make sure strong currency provisions are included. The 
Finance Committee overwhelmingly supported my amendment 18 to 8. We had 
the support of Republican colleagues: Senators Portman, Grassley, 
Crapo, Roberts, Burr, Isakson--who is sitting in the Chamber--and 
Scott. Again, this provision, which passed the Finance Committee 
overwhelmingly, ensures a level playing field for American businesses. 
It is nowhere to be found in the majority leader's package on the floor 
today.
  Finally, any trade package needs to ensure we are not importing 
products made with child labor. That is why the Finance Committee 
passed an amendment with overwhelming bipartisan support to close a 75-
year-old loophole that allowed products made with forced labor and 
child labor into this country. For 75 years, that loophole stood. We 
passed that amendment 21 to 5. We had the support of Republican 
colleagues: Senators Grassley, Crapo, Roberts, Cornyn, Thune, Toomey, 
Portman, Coats, and Heller. But, again, this bipartisan provision is 
nowhere to be found in the majority leader's package.
  That is why I call on my Republican colleagues--many of whom I have 
named; almost every one on them on the Finance Committee--who have 
voted for either the currency amendment or the level the playing field 
amendment or the prohibition on child labor amendment. Some Republican 
members of the Finance Committee voted for all three of those 
amendments, but they are not in the package.
  I am hopeful my Republican colleagues will join Democratic colleagues 
to vote no on cloture so we can bring a package to the floor that does 
trade promotion authority, that takes cares of workers, and also takes 
care of enforcing trade rules.
  The trade package which passed out of the Finance Committee is far 
from perfect. I still have grave concerns about fast-track. I know what 
bad trade rules have done to my State. There is a reason these 
provisions were included in the trade package. The Senate should 
consider all four of them. Majority Leader McConnell says he wants to 
respect committee work on legislation. Well, here is his chance.
  The only way to get these important provisions to the President's 
desk is to combine all four into one. We have done it in the past. Keep 
in mind, every time Congress does major trade laws--2002 fast-track 
included provisions on enforcement, and it included provisions to help 
workers through trade adjustment assistance; the same thing in 1988 in 
the trade package; the same thing in 1974 in the trade package. Why 
would we bifurcate this? Why would we take out enforcement when that is 
a very important part of trade?
  We should not move forward with any trade package that does not 
include all four bills. I ask my colleagues in both parties, those who 
supported

[[Page S2786]]

our enforcement efforts in both parties in Finance, to join us and vote 
no on cloture when we take the vote in the next few minutes.
  I yield the floor.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the time during the 
quorum call be charged evenly to both parties.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
  Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The Senator from Oregon.
  Mr. MERKLEY. Mr. President, a few moments ago, we heard an argument 
that this envisioned trade agreement will increase the number of 
products that are stamped ``Made in America,'' ``Made in the United 
States of America.'' Certainly that is the argument that has been put 
forward for trade agreement after trade agreement after trade 
agreement.
  The first step in the process is to say: Look at those markets. 
Wouldn't it be wonderful in that nation if we had direct access, 
improved access?
  Particularly, we have done a series of agreements with very low-wage, 
low-environmental standards, low-enforcement nations. Well, that is the 
first stage.
  Then the second stage becomes: Now that we have this broader 
connection, we are competing with products made in that country, so we 
better make sure we open a factory there as well. And then suddenly, 
instead of those products coming from the United States to a foreign 
nation, in fact, those products are being made in that foreign nation.
  Then comes stage three: Oh, now that we are making those products 
overseas at a much lower price because of the lower wages and lower 
environmental standards and lower enforcement, it does not make sense 
to make those products in the United States anymore.
  So that is how we lost 5 million manufacturing jobs in America. That 
is how we lost 50,000 factories in America. So for those who want to 
put forward the chimera, the illusion, the mirage that somehow this is 
going to increase American production, American citizens should know, 
in fact, that is a false promise--a false promise that has been put out 
time after time after time and shown to be wrong again and again and 
again.
  Let's think about this: Why would you pave a path to put the workers 
in your State directly in competition with workers earning 60 cents an 
hour? Tell me that is advantageous to making things in your nation, and 
I will tell you, you are wrong.
  So let's not go down a path in which we pave a highway to essentially 
destroy American manufacturing, to disrupt American manufacturing, to 
decrease the competitiveness of living wages here in the United States 
of America. Let's enhance and strengthen our position in the world, not 
undermine it.
  Thank you, Mr. President.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Utah.
  Mr. HATCH. Mr. President, in the remaining 2\1/2\ minutes we have, I 
want to take a few seconds of it.
  I urge my colleagues to support the motion to proceed. All this does 
is get us on the bill. We need to have a robust debate about the trade 
agenda, and I am willing to do that. Of course, the centerpiece is 
TPA--no question about it. I know our staffs have been working together 
to find a path forward on Enforce Customs.
  This is an important bill, and we need to get it through the Senate, 
but to do that, we need to begin debate today.
  Trade promotion authority is the key to our economic future. I hope 
my colleagues on both sides of the aisle will stand with me and 
President Obama and vote yes so we may update and modernize our trade 
laws, including TPA, and help lay the groundwork for a healthy economy 
for our children and our grandchildren.
  Ninety-five percent of the world's trade is outside of our country. 
Trade produces better salaries--13 to 18 percent. We have worked 
through all the problems in the committee. We have had plenty of 
amendments, lots of debate, and we put this on the floor with the 
understanding that it would be voted on.
  Mr. BROWN. Would the Finance chair yield for a question?
  Mr. HATCH. My time is just about gone, but go ahead.
  Mr. BROWN. I would just ask, the four bills that we passed in 
committee--African growth and opportunity, trade adjustment assistance, 
trade promotion authority, and the Customs bill--all passed out of 
committee by strong bipartisan majorities, right, and we hoped at the 
time they would come together in the motion to proceed to a vote.
  Mr. HATCH. I understand the question. They passed out with an 
understanding between the vice chairman of the committee and me that we 
would vote on them separately but would move TPA and TAA--which most 
Republicans hate--we would move them together, and then we would move 
the third one, and then we would move the fourth one. It was supposed 
to be done that way because everybody knew that putting the Schumer 
amendment on the one bill would not be acceptable in the House and 
would not be acceptable to the President, and that is the problem here. 
We all are prepared to have a vote on that bill, but the agreement was 
that we would vote individually on all four bills. Finally, we agreed 
to do TPA and TAA because your side was concerned about whether this 
side would allow TAA to go through. There never had been a question 
that we were willing to do that even though most of us hate that bill.
  Mr. BROWN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to speak for 1 
minute.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
  Mr. ISAKSON. I object.
  Mr. BURR. I object.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Objection is heard.
  Mr. HATCH. If we could get a minute, too, I would be happy to have 
that. OK.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Pursuant to rule XXII, the Chair lays before 
the Senate the pending cloture motion, which the clerk will state.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

                             Cloture Motion

       We, the undersigned Senators, in accordance with the 
     provisions of rule XXII of the Standing Rules of the Senate, 
     do hereby move to bring to a close debate on the motion to 
     proceed to H.R. 1314, an act to amend the Internal Revenue 
     Code of 1986 to provide for the right to an administrative 
     appeal relating to adverse determinations of tax-exempt 
     status of certain organizations.
         Mitch McConnell, Bob Corker, Joni Ernst, Bill Cassidy, 
           John Cornyn, Thad Cochran, Shelley Moore Capito, Deb 
           Fischer, John McCain, James Lankford, Patrick J. 
           Toomey, Roy Blunt, Ron Johnson, Pat Roberts, David 
           Perdue, David Vitter, Ben Sasse.

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. By unanimous consent, the mandatory quorum 
call has been waived.
  The question is, Is it the sense of the Senate that debate on the 
motion to proceed to H.R. 1314, an act to amend the Internal Revenue 
Code of 1986 to provide for the right to an administrative appeal 
relating to adverse determinations of tax-exempt status of certain 
organizations, shall be brought to a close?
  The yeas and nays are mandatory under the rule.
  The clerk will call the roll.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk called the roll.
  Mr. CORNYN. The following Senators are necessarily absent: the 
Senator from South Carolina (Mr. Graham) and the Senator from Florida 
(Mr. Rubio).
  Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from New Jersey (Mr. Booker) 
is necessarily absent.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Are there any other Senators in the Chamber 
desiring to vote?
  The yeas and nays resulted--yeas 52, nays 45, as follows:

                      [Rollcall Vote No. 176 Leg.]

                                YEAS--52

     Alexander
     Ayotte
     Barrasso
     Blunt
     Boozman
     Burr
     Capito
     Carper
     Cassidy
     Coats
     Cochran
     Collins
     Corker
     Cornyn
     Cotton
     Crapo
     Cruz
     Daines
     Enzi
     Ernst
     Fischer
     Flake
     Gardner
     Grassley
     Hatch
     Heller
     Hoeven
     Inhofe
     Isakson
     Johnson
     Kirk
     Lankford
     Lee
     McCain
     Moran
     Murkowski
     Paul
     Perdue
     Portman
     Risch
     Roberts
     Rounds
     Sasse
     Scott
     Sessions
     Shelby
     Sullivan
     Thune
     Tillis
     Toomey
     Vitter
     Wicker

                                NAYS--45

     Baldwin
     Bennet
     Blumenthal
     Boxer
     Brown
     Cantwell

[[Page S2787]]


     Cardin
     Casey
     Coons
     Donnelly
     Durbin
     Feinstein
     Franken
     Gillibrand
     Heinrich
     Heitkamp
     Hirono
     Kaine
     King
     Klobuchar
     Leahy
     Manchin
     Markey
     McCaskill
     McConnell
     Menendez
     Merkley
     Mikulski
     Murphy
     Murray
     Nelson
     Peters
     Reed
     Reid
     Sanders
     Schatz
     Schumer
     Shaheen
     Stabenow
     Tester
     Udall
     Warner
     Warren
     Whitehouse
     Wyden

                             NOT VOTING--3

     Booker
     Graham
     Rubio
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. On this vote, the yeas are 52, the nays are 
45.
  Three-fifths of the Senators duly chosen and sworn not having voted 
in the affirmative, the motion is rejected.
  The majority leader.
  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I enter a motion to reconsider the vote 
by which cloture was not invoked.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The motion is entered.
  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I move to proceed to H.R. 1314.

                          ____________________