Frist sees CAFTA floor vote in late June, as Florida citrus backs deal
June 03, 2005
Reposted from Inside US Trade
Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-TN) has informally signaled that a free trade agreement the United States has negotiated with Central American countries and the Dominican Republic could be one of three bills that come up for a Senate floor vote in the last week of June, according to congressional sources. But he also said the Senate may opt to consider the defense authorization bill in the fourth week of June instead, they said.When the Senate returns from recess next week, it will consider the nomination of John Bolton to be the U.S. representative to the United Nations as well as judicial nominees. In the second and third week, the Senate is expected to focus on energy legislation, according to congressional sources. The Senate could then turn to the DR-CAFTA or the defense authorization bill, under a tentative floor schedule Frist discussed with other members of the Senate, they said.
Frist's tentative schedule presumes that the bill implementing the DR-CAFTA would come out of the Senate Finance Committee this month. Finance has tentatively scheduled a mock markup of a draft implementing bill the week of June 13.
The administration is expected to make the draft implementing bill available for review by both Republican and Democratic staff at least one week before that date, congressional sources said.
Amendments to the DR-CAFTA will likely have to be filed 24 hours before the markup in the Senate Finance Committee, a Senate source said. The Bush Administration expects Sen. Kent Conrad (D-ND) to offer an amendment to strip out the sugar provisions among many others. Some observers say Conrad will offer a dozen amendments in an effort to make the vote on DR-CAFTA as painful as possible for committee members. An aide to Conrad would only say that there are "lots of problems" with the DR-CAFTA.
President Bush this week called on Congress to pass the DR-CAFTA along with an energy bill and appropriations bills to improve the U.S. economy. In a May 31 press conference, Bush called on Congress to pass the energy bill before the August recess but set no timeline for the DR-CAFTA or the appropriations bills. He also stressed that there are geopolitical as well as economic reasons to vote for DR-CAFTA.
At press time, the administration had not reached out to sugar producers, industry sources said. In a May 26 White House meeting with Bush, several senators laid out their issues with respect to DR-CAFTA provisions when President Bush urged them to support it, according to congressional sources. But there was no discussion of what the administration could do to allay these problems, a Senate aide said.
Another source said that it would be unusual for the Bush Administration to try to address specific complaints during a meeting with a relatively large group of senators. It is more likely officials would try to do so individually, he said.
Senate Agriculture Chairman Saxby Chambliss (R-GA) is expected to continue his efforts for a compromise on the DR-CAFTA after the recess, a sugar industry source said. Chambliss had held a meeting with Republican senators from selected sugar states last week (Inside U.S. Trade, May 27, p. 1)
The administration does not yet have firm commitments from four Republicans on the Senate Finance Committee that they will vote for the DR-CAFTA and against an amendment to strip out the sugar provisions, a Senate aide said. This includes Sen. Gordon Smith (R-OR), who some opponents believe would like to help the sugar industry but ultimately supports the DR-CAFTA.
Other senators that opponents say have not given a commitment with respect to their votes are Sens. Craig Thomas (R-WY), Olympia Snowe (R-ME) and Jim Bunning (R-KY). The administration needs these four votes because Sen. Mike Crapo (R-ID) is widely expected to support a sugar amendment and oppose the DR-CAFTA if sugar is included. With Crapo's defection, Republicans would only have a one-vote margin on the committee if Democrats and Independent Jim Jeffords (I-VT) are united in opposition.
But some sources pointed out that even if the committee reports the draft implementing bill with a negative recommendation, it would still come to the floor under fast-track rules. They acknowledge that Senate staff has been seeking to avoid this approach, but may be forced to proceed with it.
Separately, Florida Citrus Mutual's board of directors agreed this week to support the DR-CAFTA and vowed to urge the Florida congressional delegation to support it. The board announced its decision on June 1, breaking its traditional alliance on trade deals with sugar and cattle producers in the state.
The group previously maintained a neutral position on the DR-CAFTA on which the group has said it does not see any economic value (Inside U.S. Trade, May 27, p. 9).
A Florida Citrus Mutual source said the administration has been "very understanding" of the citrus industry's needs and sensitivities in the Doha round negotiations in the World Trade Organization, as well as the ongoing negotiations for a Free Trade Area of the Americas. Brazil is the world's largest citrus producer. "We want to continue our close relationship," he said. So, Florida citrus growers decided to be supportive of the administration on the DR-CAFTA, he said.