Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Democrats Scuttle Effort To Pay For Trade Bill Provision With Medicare Cuts
The Associated Press: Obama’s Trade Bill Faces Showdown Vote On Capitol Hill
A landmark trade bill that tops President Barack Obama’s second-term agenda faces a showdown vote in the House as Democrats mount a last-ditch effort to kill it. ... [Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi] worked behind the scenes with House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, this week to solve a last-minute hang-up involving Democratic concerns about cutting Medicare funds to pay for worker retraining. The intricate solution to the Medicare issue lay in finding another revenue source —various tax penalties — and also lining up the votes in a certain order that made passage of the fast-track bill contingent on passage of the trade adjustment bill. That created the opening for Democratic fast-track opponents to take aim at the trade adjustment measure. (Werner and Babington, 6/11)
Reuters: House Takes Key Steps Toward 'Fast-Track' Vote On Friday
President Barack Obama's quest for "fast-track" negotiating authority on a Pacific Rim trade deal passed its initial tests in the House of Representatives on Thursday ahead of a final vote on Friday on contentious trade measures. By a vote of 397-32, the House approved a measure authorizing funds to help workers who lose their jobs as a result of trade deals, without cutting Medicare health benefits for the elderly to pay for it, as the Senate had proposed. But aid for workers was shaping up as a major issue on Friday. (Hughes and Cowan, 6/11)
The Wall Street Journal: Obama’s Trade Agenda Faces Crucial Votes In House
Democrats had balked at a provision in the Senate bill that pays for the program with cuts to Medicare providers. In a deal painstakingly negotiated and refined this week by House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.) and Speaker John Boehner (R., Ohio), the program, known as Trade Adjustment Assistance, or TAA, would be funded by a different source. But some Democrats still had qualms because the fix would be made through a separate piece of legislation and they worried the structure of the deal could open them up to political attacks over the Medicare cuts. (Peterson and Mauldin, 6/12)
The Washington Post: Trade Debate Heads Into Home Stretch With Democrats Still Wary
That Trade Adjustment Assistance legislation, or TAA, has historically won wide support among Democrats, and its inclusion alongside fast-track authority has typically helped persuade skeptical Democrats to support the overall package. But [Rep. Rose] DeLauro and her allies threatened to oppose the pending TAA bill, raising concerns about a provision that would pay for the trade assistance by cutting Medicare, as well as language keeping public employees from claiming benefits. And the AFL-CIO has led the outside effort to oppose TAA in a tactical move to kill the wider deal. After a series of modifications made at Pelosi’s request, Republicans unveiled a compromise that replaced the Medicare cut with increased tax revenue and laid out a voting process that suited the Democratic leader. (Kane and DeBonis, 6/11)
