Passing A Trade Bill Under the Cover of Darkness

Passing A Trade Bill Under the Cover of Darkness

July 29, 2005

The Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) passed in the early hours of yesterday morning, by a vote of 217 to 215. It was always expected that the vote was going to be close, but the behind the scenes maneuvering and strong arming that took place was reminiscent of the 2003 Medicare vote. The voting began a few minutes after 11:00 pm, and after the standard 15-minutes voting period ended at 11:17 pm, the bill had failed by 5 votes. Not satisfied with the result, House Republican leaders held the vote open for an additional 47 minutes, a tactic that Vice President Dick Cheney once called "the greatest abuse of democracy." During that time, supporters of CAFTA, including President Bush, worked House members until they had the votes they needed.

• The administration fought hard to get support of this bill, dangling carrots to members. Administration officials made it clear from the beginning that they were willing to negotiate with members to get CAFTA passed. President Bush made private phone calls to unsure members and highway projects were dangled before members on the fence. Republican leaders basically told their members that if they wanted anything, now was the time to ask for it. House Majority Whip Roy Blunt (R-MS) admitted that "'it didn't hurt' that Congress was putting the finishing touches on a federal highway bill at the same time that the House was voting on CAFTA.
  
  
• Recognizing that the merits of CAFTA weren't enough, the administration turned to fear. Unable to push CAFTA through on its own merits, administration officials used national security as a rationale for passing the bill. They said that rejecting the bill would destabilize new and fragile democracies, causing people to flee north and increasing illegal immigration. Given that Bush lacks both a national security policy and an immigration policy, it's not surprising that the president is trying to present his trade policy as a three-for-one deal.
  
  
• The tactics employed in the passage of CAFTA are eerily similar to those used in the 2003 Medicare bill. Representatives remarked on how the CAFTA vote reminded them of that of the 2003 Medicare bill, during which Majority Leader Tom DeLay violated House rules by offering to endorse the congressional bid of Rep. Nick Smith's son in exchange for his vote on the Medicare bill. There are indications that similar tactics were employed in trying to get CAFTA passed and some representatives are debating filing ethics charges. There appears to be a pattern emerging – if the administration can't get a bill passed, it will use any tactic it can think of to sway members its way.