http://www.blacklistednews.com/Senate_approves_Obama%27s_secret_fast-track_%27trade%27_bill%2C_includes_sharia_law_nation_of_Brunei/44108/0/38/38/Y/M.html
Senate approves Obama's secret fast-track 'trade' bill, includes sharia law nation of Brunei
Published: May 23, 2015
Source: USA Today
— President Obama's trade agenda received a critical boost from the U.S. Senate late Friday with a bipartisan vote in favor of a "fast track" trade bill.
"It's important to President Obama, and it's important to a lot of us here in the chamber," said Senate Finance Chairman Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, a lead sponsor of the bill.
The Senate voted, 62-37, to approve a six-year renewal of trade promotion authority (TPA), which provides an expedited process to submit trade pacts to Congress.
The bill now heads to the U.S. House, which is expected to begin work on the bill in June.
Final passage was all but assured after pro-trade senators cleared a key procedural hurdle earlier in the evening when a supermajority of senators agreed to move forward with a final vote.
Passage bookended a week marked by divisive debate over trade and its impact on the U.S. economy.
Efforts to reach a bipartisan compromise on a broad list of amendments to the TPA failed, frustrating Democrats who sought the majority of changes.Democrats were seeking a deal for votes on about 20 amendments, which Hatch said was unreasonable. "We're not going to do that. Let's face it, we're not going to debate this all over again."
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