Senate passes Trade Promotion Authority (TPA), legislation heads to president’s desk for signature

The United States Senate approved Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) Wednesday afternoon with 60-38 vote.

This bill gives the President the power to submit trade deals to Congress for an up-or-down vote without amendments. The Kentucky Chamber has been a strong supporter of this bill, as it will open new international markets to products made in America and commends Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell for his support of this bill and work toward its passage.

McConnell remarked on the Senate Floor that this bill is “[p]roving that our friends can rally with us in support of 1.4 million jobs in our country—including over 18,000 in Kentucky alone—as one study estimates new trade agreements with Europe and the Pacific could support.”

Now passed, the bill heads to President Obama’s desk for signature.

Chamber President Dave Adkisson praised passage of the trade bill and noted how the issue proves that partisanship can be overcome. “It’s great to see a Kentuckian bring two side together around a critical issue for the business community. Without Senator McConnell’s leadership, the partisans may have derailed this critical issue. Kentucky companies of all sizes will benefit from additional markets to sell their goods stamped ‘Made in Kentucky’.”

Several others have recently noted the Kentucky Senator’s role in moving legislation and returning the Senate to a place where legislation can be debated and passed. Two former Senate Majority Leaders Trent Lott and Bob Dole noted McConnell’s leadership in today’s Wall Street Journal in a piece called A Senate Majority Leader Worthy of the Title.

 Click here to learn more about the TPA: https://www.uschamber.com/international/international-affairs-division/support-trade-promotion-authority-tpa/trade-promotion