Thune says pass free trade agreements now--and create jobs

President Obama says he supports the pending free trade agreements, but he's just paying lip service to them. His Big Labor allies and the Democrats in the US Senate are against such legislation. And Obama holds the cards.

But Sen. John Thune (R-SD) is pushing hard.

From his Politico op-ed:

In November 2006, the United States signed a free-trade agreement with Colombia, paving the way for better access to millions of consumers there. This was a big win for our trade negotiators — and they followed it up with similar agreements with Panama and South Korea in June 2007.

And then — nothing. For the deals to go into effect, the president must officially submit them to Congress for consideration. But Democrats in Congress blocked any possibility of a debate on the agreements until President Barack Obama took office. Now he has refused to send them down Pennsylvania Avenue to Congress. Instead, the White House is insisting that the agreements must include new spending on an expansion of the Trade Adjustment Assistance program.

At a time of budget austerity, programs with new spending should be considered separately and on their own merits — without preconditions.

For the president to hold trade opportunities hostage to a demand backed by his union base leaves us with nothing but missed opportunities. Meanwhile, it keeps U.S. employers from expanding their businesses in a way that could lead to more jobs for the workers that the administration claims it wants to help.

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