[ Daily News| September 16, 2016 | Inside US Trade]
Republican members of the Senate Finance Committee this week said that while the chances for a lame-duck vote on the Trans-Pacific Partnership right now look bleak — citing a lack of Democratic support and “unanswered questions” — they agreed that the climate for the deal and a potential vote on it may change after Nov. 8.
Majority Whip John Cornyn (R-TX) told Inside U.S. Trade that the chances for a lame-duck vote are “not very good, unfortunately,” adding, “I’d like to see it voted on, but the politics are pretty toxic.”
Cornyn, emphasizing that he is “for free trade — it’s been a huge benefit to Texas,” alleged that the rhetoric around trade policy and TPP stem from President Obama’s failure to convince his party of the benefits of trade.
“I think trade has gotten a bad name; the president hasn’t done very much to lead on this issue, and the biggest problems we have is frankly a lack of Democratic support,” Cornyn said on Sept. 14. “We only had 13 Democrats vote for trade promotion authority even when the president of their same party was promoting it. So it’s complicated, and I hope we sort it out.”
