Substitute Amendment to the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015

May. 21, 2015 | S.Amdt. 1221 to H.R. 1314

This substitute amendment by Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) to the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015 (H.R. 1314) includes trade-related provisions to grant authority to the president to "fast track" trade agreements. It fails to hold the executive branch accountable to acheive negotiating objectives, address the job-killing U.S. trade imbalance, which currently stands at $505 billion, or ensures that trade deals do not continue the current race to the bottom in terms of pay and benefits, worker rights, environmental protections, access to affordable medicines, food safety rules and other vital protections for working families. In short, it does nothing to prevent the mistakes of the failed trade policies that have contributed to stagnating wages, increasing inequality and the closure of more than 60,000 factories since 2000. Cloture passed.