McConnell Offers Plan To Push Trade Deals

Reuters reports:

Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell, seeking to spur action on three long-delayed free trade agreements, said on Thursday he was prepared to help the White House renew a retraining program for workers displaced by trade but added a major demand of his own.

"Given the importance of these free trade agreements to our economy and the economic recovery, Senator McConnell is prepared to commit to help get passed an appropriate TAA (Trade Adjustment Assistance) bill this year that includes a reauthorization of TPA (Trade Promotion Authority)," McConnell spokesman Michael Brumas said in an email.

But McConnell wants Congress to vote on the trade deals before considering TAA and TPA, Brumas added.