THE DAILY WHIP: FRIDAY, DECEMBER 11, 2015

H.Res. 560 –Rule providing for consideration of Senate Amendments to H.R. 2250 – Further Continuing Appropriations for Fiscal Year 2016, and for other purposes (Rep. Rogers (KY) – Appropriations) and the Conference Report to Accompany H.R. 644 – Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act of 2015 (Rep. Brady (TX) – Ways and Means) (One hour of debate).  The Rules Committee has recommended one Rule which would provide for consideration of two bills.

For the Senate Amendments to H.R. 2250, the Rules Committee has recommended a closed Rule that provides for one hour of general debate equally divided and controlled by the Chair and Ranking Member of the Committee on Appropriations. The Rule waives all points of order against the Senate Amendments.

For the Conference Report to Accompany H.R. 644, the Rules Committee has allowed debate on the conference report be divided pursuant to clause 8(d) of Rule XXII.  The Rule allows one motion to recommit and waives all points of order against the conference report and against its consideration.  Members are urged to VOTE NO.

Conference Report to Accompany H.R. 644 – Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act of 2015 (Rep. Brady (TX) – Ways and Means) (One hour of debate). 

The Conference Report facilitates trade by strengthening trade enforcement, including provisions to guard against evasion of anti-dumping and countervailing duty laws, protect intellectual property against piracy, and target sources of unfair trade and provisions streamlining the flow of legitimate trade by modernizing Customs operations and reducing paperwork. Also, it closes a loophole in current law that allows the importation of products made using child or forced labor.

The Conference Report contains a modified version of the House language barring the inclusion of climate change provisions in fast track trade deals.  While the language is improved, it still would single out greenhouse gas emission provisions as being ineligible for inclusion in a trade deal, raising concerns about its impact on efforts to protect the environment in trade deals as called for in the May 10, 2007, Agreement setting out Democratic priorities for trade negotiations.   

The Conference Report adopted House language regarding currency manipulation instead of the Senate currency provisions that would make currency undervaluation an illegal subsidy subject to countervailing duty laws. The House language would direct the Secretary of the Treasury to address currency manipulation through “enhanced bilateral engagement.”

In addressing the issue of human trafficking, the Conference Report modifies Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) language excluding countries from being eligible for TPA “fast track” procedures if they are cited in the State Department Human Trafficking report as Tier 3 countries. The Conference Report language allows such countries to be eligible under TPA, so long as the President certifies that they are taking “concrete steps” to improve. 

Lastly, the Conference Report contains the Permanent Internet Tax Freedom Act, which makes permanent the federal moratorium on new state and local internet access taxes.

Concur in the Senate Amendments to H.R. 2250 – Further Continuing Appropriations for Fiscal Year 2016, and for other purposes (Rep. Rogers (KY) – Appropriations) (One hour of debate).   The measure extends for five days – through December 16, 2015, current funding for all government operations.  This measure is needed in order to provide additional time for an agreement to be reached on an omnibus appropriations bill for the full fiscal year, through September 2016. The current continuing resolution is set to expire at the end of the day on Friday, December 11. It is time for Republicans to end their record of governing by crisis and work across the aisle to ensure that an omnibus bill is passed, and this short extension until December 16 allows us to keep our government open so it can operate on behalf of the American people while negotiations continue in earnest to that end through the weekend.