Crapo: Possible to Attach AGOA, Haiti HELP to Spending Package
Senate Finance Committee Chairman Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, told International Trade Today that the fact that the House of Representatives already passed two spending packages complicates his desire to attach trade preferences to a spending bill, but that it is not necessarily an insurmountable hurdle. Both bills, which fund a number of departments through Sept. 30, must pass both chambers before Jan. 30. The Senate voted on the first of the two packages -- which funds Commerce Department, the International Trade Commission, and the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative -- a few hours after Crapo spoke. That leaves only one funding bill that could serve as a vehicle for the trade bills.
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The House passed bills to restore tariff breaks for Haiti under Haiti HELP, and to restore the African Growth and Opportunity Act, both through the end of 2028. Both passed with more than 85% support (see 2601130008).
The problem with attaching either or both bills to a spending package is that the package would then need a second vote in the House. Given that the Senate is away from Washington next week, time will be tight. An ITT reporter asked if those realities make the approach too difficult.
"I've discussed that question with my staff, and we're trying to find out now by checking the mood" in the House, he said Jan. 15 in a hallway interview at the Capitol. "But it is a problem to send the [spending] bill back over [for another vote] and to do ping pong. So you've raised a good question. I don't have the answer to it."