We are driving Mexico and our other hemispheric neighbors into bilateral and regional agreements that exclude us - even into the outstretched arms of the European Union. All these deals are being made in our back yard, but we sit on the sidelines, powerless. While another vote on Fast Track is not contemplated for the remainder of the Congressional session, President Clinton has suggested he supports bringing the measure up for a vote in early 1999. The Coalition will be meeting in the next few days to analyze the vote and develop a strategy for convincing lawmakers that giving U.S. negotiators the chance to be at the table fighting for American farmers and businesses is better than watching powerless from the sidelines. With only about two weeks left in the Congressional session, a battle over competing farm rescue packages threatens to sink the agriculture spending bill for the fiscal year that begins Oct. 1.
Most Republican leaders oppose tampering with marketing loan caps.
Legislation to remove the caps has failed twice in the Senate this year. Republicans reacted angrily to the veto threat, saying the Democratic plan is too costly and marks a return to government interference in agriculture. At issue is how the bill is being financed. President Clinton has vowed to veto the bill because funding would come from a surplus that is building in the Social Security Trust Fund. To counter criticism of the tax cut bill, House Republicans on Sept. 25 passed 240-188, legislation setting aside 90 percent of the budget surplus until a long term fix for the Social Security system was passed.