‘That Entire Calendar Year That House Democrats Wasted Has Consequences’

It’s Been Over A Year Since The USMCA Agreement Was Signed And Six Months Since The White House Notified Congress The Administration Would Submit Legislation To Implement It

“After a year of negotiations, USTR [Robert] Lighthizer announced a preliminary agreement with Mexico on August 27, 2018. On August 31, President Trump gave Congress the required 90-day notice that he would sign a revised deal with Mexico. After further negotiations, Canada joined the pact and it was concluded on September 30, 2018. The three nations signed the [USMCA] agreement on November 30, 2018…. The President gave the 30-day advanced notice that he intends to submit implementing legislation on May 30, 2019 and submitted the required draft Statement of Administrative Action (SAA).” (“In Focus: Trade Promotion Authority (TPA),” Congressional Research Service, IF10038, 6/21/2019)

For Most Of This Year, Senate Republicans Have Called On House Democrats To Prioritize USMCA, But Instead The House Prioritized Investigating And Impeaching The President

May 2019

SEN. JONI ERNST (R-IA): “I also want to talk just very briefly about trade. So, we really need to see some relief when it comes to the trade front, so USMCA, putting the pressure on Speaker Pelosi to get her folks together and really support this package. That's important for our farmers and manufacturers back home …” (Sen. Ernst, Press Conference, 5/07/2019)

What Was The House Doing? Issuing Subpoenas For The President’s Tax Returns

REP. RICHARD NEAL (D-MA), House Ways & Means Committee Chairman: “[O]n April 3, I requested six years of the President’s personal and business tax returns … I issued subpoenas today [May 10] to the Secretary of the Treasury and the Commissioner of the IRS for six years of personal and business returns.” (U.S. House Ways & Means Committee, Press Release, 5/10/2019)

What Was The House NOT Doing? Coming To An Agreement On USMCA

“Speaker Nancy Pelosi is resisting pressure from the Trump administration to quickly approve an updated North American trade deal and is telling lawmakers and union officials that a planned study of the agreement could drag on well into the fall, people familiar with the situation said.” (“Pelosi Slow-Walks Trump’s New Nafta Deal,” The New York Times, 5/29/2019)

June 2019

SEN. McCONNELL: “I was glad to speak with Prime Minister Trudeau today…. In particular, the Prime Minister and I discussed our strong support for the USMCA, a landmark trade agreement that stands to greatly benefit the United States, Canada, and Mexico…. I urge Speaker Pelosi and the House Democrats to catch up to our neighbors and begin to advance the USMCA. American workers, families, and job creators deserve this major win.” (Sen. McConnell, Press Release, 6/20/2019)

SEN. CHUCK GRASSLEY (R-IA), Senate Finance Committee Chairman: “I am pleased to welcome our witness. Ambassador Lighthizer, thank you for coming. We have been eager to have you before the committee for a very important annual hearing to discuss the president's trade agenda…. A critical component of the trade agenda that I would like to discuss is U.S.-Mexico Canada Agreement, USMCA for short. Farmers, workers, businesses stand to benefit greatly from that agreement…. President Trump and you Ambassador Lighthizer delivered a solid deal to enhance this critical relationship with our good neighbors. Now Congress must act on implementing it.” (U.S. Senate Finance Committee Hearing, 6/18/2019)

What Was The House Doing? ‘Stepping Up [The] Trump Clash,’ Holding A Floor Vote On Subpoenas

“The House took its strongest step yet in the standoff with President Trump … voting Tuesday to seek court enforcement of subpoenas for Attorney General William P. Barr and former White House counsel Donald McGahn. On a party-line vote of 229 to 191, the House passed a resolution that would empower the House Judiciary Committee to go to court against Barr and McGahn … The vote keeps Democrats squarely on a meticulous investigative track favored by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and other top leaders …” (“Stepping Up Trump Clash, House Votes To Enforce Barr And McGahn Subpoenas,” The Washington Post, 6/11/2019)

What Was The House NOT Doing? Coming To An Agreement On USMCA

“House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has pushed back on Trump administration pressure to quickly advance the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement on trade.” (“Clock Ticks for Speedy USMCA Deal as Pelosi Forms Working Group,” National Journal, 6/13/2019)

• “House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said that the pending U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement may need to be reopened and changed with surgical precision before the House will vote on the trade pact. … Reopening the agreement would delay the process further, likely past the midyear deadline Mr. Trump has wanted. Mrs. Pelosi said she isn’t in a hurry to bring the bill to the House floor.” (“Pelosi Calls for Surgical Changes to Trump Trade Pact,” The Wall Street Journal, 6/27/2019)

July 2019

SEN. ROY BLUNT (R-MO): “I met with farm groups at the Ozark Empire Fair in my home town, Springfield, Missouri, on Saturday. Every one of them, their number one issue … is what do we do about trade. And they're hopeful and I'm hopeful that the Speaker of the House will decide to bring the USMCA trade agreement to the floor. There is clearly a majority to pass that agreement on both the House side and the Senate side of the building, but you have to have a chance to vote on that agreement.” (Sen. Blunt, Press Conference, 7/30/2019)

SEN. GRASSLEY: “Good morning, and welcome to our witnesses, who are with us today from a range of industries to tell us about the importance of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, or the USMCA…. [E]very day that passes is another day that the benefits of USMCA go unrealized…. I therefore urge House Democrats and Ambassador Lighthizer to focus on their specific concerns and to propose solutions in short order, so that we can pass USMCA.” (U.S. Senate Finance Committee Hearing, 7/30/2019)

What Was The House Doing? Holding The Democrat Majority’s First Floor Vote On Articles Of Impeachment

“The 332-to-95 vote to table the impeachment article drafted by Representative Al Green, Democrat of Texas, constituted the first action by the House since Democrats took control in January on a measure to impeach Mr. Trump …” (“House Votes to Kill Trump Impeachment Resolution,” The New York Times, 7/17/2019)

• REP. AL GREEN (D-TX): “I think it’s a process. This was another step in the process.” (“House Blocks Al Green Articles Of Impeachment Of Trump,” Roll Call, 7/17/2019)

What Was The House NOT Doing? Coming To An Agreement On USMCA

“The leading White House contenders are amping up their opposition to the U.S.-Mexico-Canada agreement, which has been stalled for months. And Speaker Nancy Pelosi is showing no signs of bending without major changes to tilt the agreement to the left.” (“Trump’s Big Deal Gets Battered By 2020 Dems And Pelosi,” Politico, 7/12/2019)

• “Nine House Democrats tapped to serve on a trade working group held their latest set of talks with U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer on Thursday, and they emerged from the meeting acknowledging that nothing was resolved.” (“Trump’s Big Deal Gets Battered By 2020 Dems And Pelosi,” Politico, 7/12/2019)

August 2019

“Democrat Tom Vilsack … joined Republican U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley in pushing Congress to ratify the U.S.- Mexico-Canada Agreement … Grassley, R-Iowa, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, said he hoped Democrats who run the U.S. House will pass the USMCA this fall so Republicans in the U.S. Senate can follow suit ‘in short order’ to ratify a pact with Iowa’s top two trade partners. … ‘I have not heard anything negative from leaders of the House of Representatives, where this must start. I don’t have a date,’ said Grassley, who agreed with Vilsack that USMCA should get bipartisan approval this year …” (“Grassley, Vilsack Push For Trade Deal Approval With Mexico, Canada, Japan,” The [Cedar Rapids] Gazette, 8/26/2019)

What Was The House Doing? Announcing The House Judiciary Committee Would Begin ‘Formal Impeachment Proceedings’

“House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler said publicly for the first time on Thursday that his panel is conducting an impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump, adding that the committee will decide by the end of the year whether to refer articles of impeachment to the House floor…. [I]t was a rare rhetorical escalation from the New York Democrat, who has privately pushed Speaker Nancy Pelosi to support a formal inquiry of whether to remove the president from office.” (“Nadler: ‘This Is Formal Impeachment Proceedings.’” Politico, 8/08/2019)

• REP. JERRY NADLER (D-NY), House Judiciary Committee Chairman: “This is formal impeachment proceedings. We are investigating all the evidence. We're gathering the evidence and we will at the conclusion of this, hopefully, by the end of the year, vote to -- vote articles of impeachment to the House floor or we won't. That's a decision that we'll have to make. But that -- that's exactly the process we're in right now.” (CNN’s “Erin Burnett OutFront, 8/8/2019)

What Was The House NOT Doing? Coming To An Agreement On USMCA

“House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) has thus far resisted voting on the new North American trade deal … Pelosi previously stalled trade deals under President George W. Bush, but Republicans argue a repeat of those tactics would more difficult with her majority staked in large part on pro-trade Democrats.” (Politico, 8/29/2019)

September 2019

SEN. McCONNELL: “[H]ere we are, a year after all three countries announced the deal, and the Democrats’ heel-dragging continues. Speaker Pelosi keeps saying she supports the agreement in the abstract, but the drip, drip, drip of small objections and stalling tactics keep coming…. The USMCA needs to move this fall. And that can’t happen until House Democrats stop blocking an enormous win for our country.” (Sen. McConnell, Remarks, 9/26/2019)

SEN. JOHN THUNE (R-SD): “One other issue that the Democrats continue to hold up is the USMCA, the United States Mexico Canada free trade agreement … And I can tell you as someone who comes from farm and ranch country that they're desperately looking for that to get done…. [T]his was signed by the president last year, and the House Democrats have yet to take it up.” (Sen. Thune, Press Conference, 9/24/2019)

What Was The House Doing? Speaker Pelosi Declared The House Was ‘Moving Forward With An Official Impeachment Inquiry’

HOUSE SPEAKER NANCY PELOSI (D-CA): “[T]oday, I am announcing the House of Representatives is moving forward with an official impeachment inquiry.  I am directing our six Committees to proceed with their investigations under that umbrella of impeachment inquiry.” (Speaker Pelosi, Remarks, 9/24/2019)

What Was The House NOT Doing? Coming To An Agreement On USMCA

“Support from labor groups will be a deciding factor in whether the Trump administration’s renegotiated trade deal with Mexico and Canada sees a vote in the House, as Democrats debate whether to take up the pact…. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D., Md.)  said Friday he can’t see bringing it to the floor for a vote without labor’s support.” (“Mexico-Canada Trade Pact’s Fate in House Hangs on Support of Labor,” The Wall Street Journal, 9/23/2019)

“The growing fight over impeaching President Trump is threatening to scuttle any chance that Congress will pass his trade deal meant to replace the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)…. Trump and GOP senators, who were already keeping a close eye on the calendar, are publicly fretting that it could fall victim to the high-stakes impeachment fight, which looks set to dominate the end of 2019.” (“Impeachment Fight Threatens Trade Deal,” The Hill, 9/26/2019)

October 2019

SEN. McCONNELL: “In the weeks since the Speaker of the House gave in to her far-left members’ demands for an impeachment ‘inquiry,’ she and other prominent House Democrats have insisted over and over again that impeachment will not stop them from making real progress on legislation. They say their three-year-old impeachment parade doesn’t have to block traffic and bring other important priorities to a standstill. That’s what they say, but actions speak louder than words. We have yet to see any actual indication that House Democrats intend to make good on that commitment. For months, we’ve heard the Speaker claim she’d like to get to yes on the USMCA…. But nearly a year after this landmark agreement with Mexico and Canada was announced, the most significant update to North American trade policy in a generation is still waiting for the House to take action.” (Sen. McConnell, Remarks, 10/21/2019)

What Was The House Doing? Formally Voting To Advance Impeachment, ‘Clearing The Way For Nationally Televised Hearings’

“The House of Representatives on Thursday approved a resolution to formalize the procedures of the impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump, marking a significant step in the ongoing investigation and setting the stage for the next phase in the investigation.” (“House Votes To Formalize Impeachment Inquiry Procedures,” CNN, 10/31/2019)

• “The House approved a resolution, 232 to 196, that formalized the inquiry, clearing the way for nationally televised hearings in mid-November …” (“A Divided House Backs Impeachment Probe Of Trump,” The Washington Post, 10/31/2019)

What Was The House NOT Doing? Coming To An Agreement On USMCA

“House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said Wednesday that Democrats are ‘making progress’ on the trilateral trade deal with Mexico and Canada, known as USMCA, but need more assurances before they can approve the agreement.” (“Pelosi Says Democrats Are ‘Making Progress’ On The USMCA,” CNBC, 10/02/2019)

• “The negotiations are proceeding in a Capitol consumed by the impeachment inquiry of Trump, which has contributed to growing GOP frustration with House Democrats over their failure to wrap up talks.” (“Top Democrat Floated New Proposal To White House As Lawmakers Near Final Decision On New NAFTA Vote,” The Washington Post, 10/25/2019)

November 2019

SEN. McCONNELL: “[T]he USMCA is still being blocked over in the House of Representatives…. For months, Speaker Pelosi and House Democrats have been claiming they notionally support this agreement and want to get to ‘yes.’ But, month after month, this happy talk has seemingly led to no tangible progress, just more heel-dragging…. House Democrats have enough time to continue their three-year-old obsession with impeaching the president, but they cannot find the time to pass a landmark trade deal that would create 176,000 new American jobs. Just saying their priorities out loud indicates how backwards they are.” (Sen. McConnell, Remarks, 11/12/2019)

What Was The House Doing? Holding ‘A Series Of Long Public Hearings’ On Impeaching The President

“From Wednesday Nov. 13 to Thursday Nov. 21, … the House Intelligence Committee held a series of long public hearings as part of a broader Democratic-led impeachment inquiry against President Donald Trump.” (“Everything We Learned From The Trump Impeachment Hearings,” NBC News, 11/23/2019)

What Was The House NOT Doing? Coming To An Agreement On USMCA

“House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Thursday that she doubts Congress has enough time left to pass the USMCA this year … Pelosi acknowledged earlier on Thursday that numerous steps must be carried out even after an agreement is reached with Lighthizer…. Pelosi has been under increased pressure in recent days to wrap up the USMCA negotiations …” (“No USMCA Deal Yet As Window Narrows For 2019 Vote,” Politico, 11/21/2019)

And Thanks To House Democrats Putting Impeachment First, USMCA Will Unfortunately Be Delayed Even Further

SEN. McCONNELL: “That entire calendar year that House Democrats wasted has consequences. The Speaker’s action was so belated that the administration is still in the process of writing the actual bill…. And if House Democrats send us impeachment articles, those have to come first in January, so the USMCA will get pushed back yet again.” (Sen. McConnell, Remarks, 12/12/2019)

• SEN. McCONNELL: “We will not be doing USMCA in the Senate between now and the end of next week. That will have to come up in all likelihood right after the trial is finished in the Senate …” (Sen. McConnell, Press Conference, 12/10/2019)

The Senate Must Consider USMCA Under TPA Procedures But ‘The Speaker’s 12 Months Of Delay Have Made It Literally Impossible For The Senate To Take Up The Agreement This Year’

SEN. McCONNELL: “The Speaker’s action was so belated that the administration is still in the process of writing the actual bill. We don’t even have a bill yet. Once a bill is produced, the House has to take it up first. And then, under the Trade Promotion Authority that exists to protect the deals that presidents negotiate, after House passage, the bill spends up to 15 session days in the Senate Finance Committee. And then, after that, there’s up to 15 session days for the Senate to vote on the floor. So unfortunately, the Speaker’s 12 months of delay have made it literally impossible for the Senate to take up the agreement this year….  There is just no way the Senate can make up for 12 months of House Democrat delays in just a couple of days. Governing is a question of priorities. Speaker Pelosi failed to make this trade deal a priority for an entire year. And we are now bound by the time requirements of TPA to protect the agreement in the Senate.” (Sen. McConnell, Remarks, 12/12/2019)

Under TPA Procedures, The Senate Finance Committee Has Up To 15 Days To Consider An Implementation Bill Sent From The House And The Full Senate Can Consider The Bill For As Many As Another 15 Days

“Under the procedures of Section 151 [of the Trade Act of 1974], when the President submits to Congress a draft implementing bill for a covered trade agreement and its required supporting materials, the draft is to be formally introduced as a bill in each chamber …” (“Implementing Bills for Trade Agreements: Statutory Procedures under Trade Promotion Authority,” Congressional Research Service, R44584, 8/12/2016)

“If the implementing bill contains revenue provisions (called an ‘implementing revenue bill’)—as is most likely— [and] if the Senate receives an implementing revenue bill passed by the House, it is to refer that bill to committee, and the period of 45 days of session for committee action is extended as necessary to give the Senate committee(s) at least 15 session days to consider the House bill. In this case, it is then the House bill that the Senate committee(s) must report or be discharged from, and that the Senate is to consider. These [procedures] accommodate the constitutional requirement that revenue legislation originate in the House.” (“Implementing Bills for Trade Agreements: Statutory Procedures under Trade Promotion Authority,” Congressional Research Service, R44584, 8/12/2016)

“Once the committees of referral in either chamber have reported an implementing bill or been discharged from its consideration, the bill is placed on the chamber’s calendar of business, which is its list of measures available for floor consideration. The statutory timetable for action established by Section 151 requires that in either chamber, once this point is reached, a final vote on the implementing bill is to occur by the end of the 15^th following day of session.” (“Implementing Bills for Trade Agreements: Statutory Procedures under Trade Promotion Authority,” Congressional Research Service, R44584, 8/12/2016)