WASHINGTON -- Alaska's all-Republican congressional delegation is not in agreement on the trade bill the U.S. Senate passed Wednesday: It is split down the middle of the Capitol dome.
In the Senate, both Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan voted in favor of the House-initiated trade bill Wednesday. Both voted in favor of the bill in its first trip through the Senate last month, arguing it would be a boon for business in export-heavy Alaska.
"International trade supports 90,000 Alaskan jobs, roughly 70 percent of which are part of our small- and medium-sized business community, from fishermen to natural resource developers," and expanding trade agreements would open "new markets for Alaska's exports," Murkowski said Wednesday after voting in favor of the trade bill.
"With solid trade agreements, Alaska will be able to export even more goods. And we'll be able to attract increased investment to the state, which will create more high-paying jobs. Such trade agreements work when negotiated correctly. We will make sure they are," Sullivan said.
But Rep. Don Young, breaking with most of his party, voted against the bill when it passed the House last week by a vote of 218-208, sticking with his longstanding opposition to such trade agreements.
"For months, Alaskans have contacted me to express their deep concerns for legislation that would grant 'fast track' authority to the president when negotiating trade agreements. While this is not a new issue, it comes at a time when many Americans have lost faith in the actions and proceedings of the federal government and this administration," Young said.
Young said he has heard concerns from many about the economic results -- for the country and for workers -- of an agreement with Pacific Rim countries, but his objection to the bill "is much more basic, an issue that stems from the massive power and authority Congress has ceded to the Executive Branch," he said.
Extending trade promotion authority "would give away Congress' leverage to amend or block trade deals. Congress has the exclusive authority to set the terms of trade and I believe it should stay that way," Young said.