Senate passes new North American trade deal, sending it to Trump

[tacobell fan]

The Senate passed a new North American trade deal Thursday, sending one of President Donald Trump’s top priorities to his desk for ratification. 

The GOP-held chamber approved the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement in a bipartisan vote. After Trump signs the three-nation pact, it only needs Canada’s approval to take effect. 

The Senate rushed to pass the trade agreement before the expected start of the president’s impeachment trial next week. The House delivered articles of impeachment to the other side of the Capitol on Wednesday, and the Senate could take weeks to decide whether to convict Trump and remove him from office. 

USMCA will head to the president more than 14 months after the North American nations agreed to the deal. The Trump administration worked with Democrats to resolve concerns about enforcement of labor and environmental standards — changes that led most but not all of the party’s lawmakers to support the agreement.

The Senate’s passage of USMCA follows Trump’s signing of a partial U.S. trade deal with China on Wednesday. The agreement with Beijing does not require congressional approval. 

The trade agreement makes several tweaks to the North American Free Trade Agreement, which took effect in 1994. Trump and Democrats alike argue the deal, which opened more free trade across the three countries, damaged American workers by encouraging companies to move jobs out of the U.S. 

USMCA opens Canadian dairy markets to American producers. It creates stricter rules for auto part rules of origin, and requires at least 40% of the parts for a car to be produced in plants where workers make at least $16 an hour. 

 

It also aims to update digital trade and copyright rules, among other changes. 

The changes to labor enforcement mechanisms got House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and a major union federation — the AFL-CIO — on board. Trade skeptics in the Senate such as Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, backed USMCA. Brown opposed NAFTA as a House member.  

[r2d2]

Government watchdog concludes Trump administration broke law by withholding Ukraine aid

The Government Accountability Office says the Trump administration broke the law when it withheld US security aid to Ukraine last year that had been appropriated by Congress -- an issue at the center of the impeachment of President Donald Trump. The GAO, a nonpartisan congressional watchdog, said in a decision issued Thursday that the White House budget office violated the Impoundment Control Act, a 1974 law that limits the White House from withholding funds that Congress has appropriated. 

The Office of Management and Budget told the GAO it "withheld the funds to ensure that they were not spent 'in a manner that could conflict with the President's foreign policy,'" said Thomas Armstrong, the GAO's general counsel. "Faithful execution of the law does not permit the President to substitute his own policy priorities for those that Congress has enacted into law," the GAO wrote. "OMB withheld funds for a policy reason, which is not permitted under the Impoundment Control Act. The withholding was not a programmatic delay. Therefore, we conclude that OMB violated the ICA." The decision will add fuel to the Democratic allegations that Trump's conduct ran afoul of the law when the his administration withheld $400 million in security aid to Ukraine while the President and his team pushed Ukraine to open an investigation into the President's political rivals.

The GAO decision comes as the President's Senate impeachment trial is set to begin on Thursday, with Senate Democrats pushing for Republicans to allow additional witnesses and documents to be considered during the trial. "This bombshell legal opinion from the independent Government Accountability Office demonstrates, without a doubt, that the Trump Administration illegally withheld security assistance from Ukraine. The publicly available evidence also shows that the President himself ordered this illegal act," Sen. Chris Van Hollen, a Maryland Democrat, said in a statement. "The GAO's independent findings reinforce the need for the Senate to obtain all relevant documents and hear from key fact witnesses in order to have a fair trial."

OMB spokeswoman Rachel Semmel said the budget office disagrees with the GAO's decision.

"OMB uses its apportionment authority to ensure taxpayer dollars are properly spent consistent with the President's priorities and with the law," Semmel said.

[tacobell fan]

15 minutes ago, r2d2 said:

Government watchdog concludes Trump administration broke law by withholding Ukraine aid

The Government Accountability Office says the Trump administration broke the law when it withheld US security aid to Ukraine last year that had been appropriated by Congress -- an issue at the center of the impeachment of President Donald Trump. The GAO, a nonpartisan congressional watchdog, said in a decision issued Thursday that the White House budget office violated the Impoundment Control Act, a 1974 law that limits the White House from withholding funds that Congress has appropriated. 

The Office of Management and Budget told the GAO it "withheld the funds to ensure that they were not spent 'in a manner that could conflict with the President's foreign policy,'" said Thomas Armstrong, the GAO's general counsel. "Faithful execution of the law does not permit the President to substitute his own policy priorities for those that Congress has enacted into law," the GAO wrote. "OMB withheld funds for a policy reason, which is not permitted under the Impoundment Control Act. The withholding was not a programmatic delay. Therefore, we conclude that OMB violated the ICA." The decision will add fuel to the Democratic allegations that Trump's conduct ran afoul of the law when the his administration withheld $400 million in security aid to Ukraine while the President and his team pushed Ukraine to open an investigation into the President's political rivals.

The GAO decision comes as the President's Senate impeachment trial is set to begin on Thursday, with Senate Democrats pushing for Republicans to allow additional witnesses and documents to be considered during the trial. "This bombshell legal opinion from the independent Government Accountability Office demonstrates, without a doubt, that the Trump Administration illegally withheld security assistance from Ukraine. The publicly available evidence also shows that the President himself ordered this illegal act," Sen. Chris Van Hollen, a Maryland Democrat, said in a statement. "The GAO's independent findings reinforce the need for the Senate to obtain all relevant documents and hear from key fact witnesses in order to have a fair trial."

OMB spokeswoman Rachel Semmel said the budget office disagrees with the GAO's decision.

"OMB uses its apportionment authority to ensure taxpayer dollars are properly spent consistent with the President's priorities and with the law," Semmel said.

ayina potharu antara saar?

[r2d2]

deleted

[r2d2]

23 minutes ago, tacobell fan said:

ayina potharu antara saar?

Putin 'pemapakam' lo vunnantha varaku ekkadikee poru.. #restassured

[mirchi_bajji]

59 minutes ago, r2d2 said:

Government watchdog concludes Trump administration broke law by withholding Ukraine aid

The Government Accountability Office says the Trump administration broke the law when it withheld US security aid to Ukraine last year that had been appropriated by Congress -- an issue at the center of the impeachment of President Donald Trump. The GAO, a nonpartisan congressional watchdog, said in a decision issued Thursday that the White House budget office violated the Impoundment Control Act, a 1974 law that limits the White House from withholding funds that Congress has appropriated. 

The Office of Management and Budget told the GAO it "withheld the funds to ensure that they were not spent 'in a manner that could conflict with the President's foreign policy,'" said Thomas Armstrong, the GAO's general counsel. "Faithful execution of the law does not permit the President to substitute his own policy priorities for those that Congress has enacted into law," the GAO wrote. "OMB withheld funds for a policy reason, which is not permitted under the Impoundment Control Act. The withholding was not a programmatic delay. Therefore, we conclude that OMB violated the ICA." The decision will add fuel to the Democratic allegations that Trump's conduct ran afoul of the law when the his administration withheld $400 million in security aid to Ukraine while the President and his team pushed Ukraine to open an investigation into the President's political rivals.

The GAO decision comes as the President's Senate impeachment trial is set to begin on Thursday, with Senate Democrats pushing for Republicans to allow additional witnesses and documents to be considered during the trial. "This bombshell legal opinion from the independent Government Accountability Office demonstrates, without a doubt, that the Trump Administration illegally withheld security assistance from Ukraine. The publicly available evidence also shows that the President himself ordered this illegal act," Sen. Chris Van Hollen, a Maryland Democrat, said in a statement. "The GAO's independent findings reinforce the need for the Senate to obtain all relevant documents and hear from key fact witnesses in order to have a fair trial."

OMB spokeswoman Rachel Semmel said the budget office disagrees with the GAO's decision.

"OMB uses its apportionment authority to ensure taxpayer dollars are properly spent consistent with the President's priorities and with the law," Semmel said.

oh suddenly they woke up and issued a statement. why not wait till elections are completed