Few Democrats expected to support trade bill
After President Obama paid a surprise visit Friday morning to Capitol Hill in a last ditch attempt to woo the House Democratic caucus on trade, Democrats are weighing their options on two critical trade bills.
The 11th-hour call to Congress came just as the lower chamber was set to vote Friday on the president's struggling Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) bill, which would allow Congress to give an up-or-down vote on any international trade deals without the ability to amend the negotiations.
Mr. Obama met with the caucus for 35 minutes, but it's unclear whether he succeeded in changing any minds.
"The President tried to guilt people and then impugn their integrity," Rep. Peter DeFazio, D-Oregon, told reporters angrily after the meeting.
Another Democrat, Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Texas, said that the president told members to vote their conscience on the bill. The president also reportedly told Democrats that they should vote against Trade Promotion Authority if they don't believe in it, but they should "play it straight" on Trade Adjustment Assistance.
The vote on Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) comes first. It's a program that aids workers who lose or leave their jobs because of international trade deals. If the TAA vote fails, no action will be taken on the remaining TPA legislation.
Some Democrats have threatened to vote down TAA in order to prevent a vote on the contentious TPA legislation, though the president warned they shouldn't vote against a policy they agree with in order to kill another bill.
Rep. Brad Sherman, D-California, promised that he would oppose TAA because he views the two bills as one package.
"I view this as just one vote," Sherman said. "I just have to push the red button twice."
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DeFazio added that when the President said people weren't playing it straight by voting against TAA, "that's questioning someone's integrity. We are legislators. That's the only tool we have."
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi also slammed the Trade Promotion Authority bill while speaking on the House floor, adding that she will vote against TAA to "slow down the fast track."
But some, like Rep. Ron Kind, D-Wisconsin, like TAA. His sister, he said, lost her job in a manufacturing plant and received TAA funding for re-training as a medical technician.
Republican leaders in the House back both bills, and Speaker Boehner gave a floor speech Friday encouraging members to vote for both TAA and TPA.
By Friday morning, President Obama remained just short of votes needed to secure passage of the trade negotiation bill.
Asked if he had the votes after his Capitol Hill meeting, the President said: "I don't think you ever nail anything down around here. It's always moving."
CBS News Producers Alicia Amling and Walt Cronkite contributed to this report.