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Tomorrow's vote on Portman-Stebanow currency manipulation amendment shaping up as the key Senate vote on Fast Track
Howard Richman, 5/19/2015

Tomorrow's vote on the Portman-Stebanow amendment to Fast Track is shaping up as the only significant amendment that could pass. It would direct the U.S. Trade negotiator to include prohibitions against currency manipulation in the trade treaties that Obama negotiates. The Hill reports:

The White House on Tuesday threatened to veto the bill if it included language sponsored by Sens. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) and Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) on currency manipulation....

The veto threat appeared to surprise Portman, who told reporters before the lunch that his amendment had a good chance of passing.

“Josh Earnest was asked explicitly about that and he gave an answer that indicated it is not a veto threat,” Portman said, making reference to a White House press briefing from last week.

Wyden, the senior Democrat on the Finance Committee, said the Portman-Stabenow amendment will get a floor vote and pledged to offer an alternative, with Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), that would give colleagues political cover to vote against it.

Portman, who is a Democratic target in the 2016 elections, said their counter proposal would “have no teeth.”

Any bill that permits currency manipulation is not a free-trade agreement, it is a give-away-American-industry agreement.