SENATE BEEF AMENDMENT LEADS FINANCE TO REJECT DRAFT AUSTRALIA FTA
Senate approval of the U.S.-Australia free trade agreement ran into an unexpected obstacle this week in the form of an amendment by Sen. Kent Conrad (D-ND) that was approved at a June 23 Senate Finance Committee mock-markup of the draft implementing bill. Critics, including Committee Chairman Charles Grassley (R-IA) and U.S. Trade Representative Robert Zoellick, decried the amendment as unconstitutional. This led the Finance Committee to vote against the draft implementing bill on June 24 by a vote of 14...