OVERNIGHT MONEY: Adios to the trade deals

By Vicki Needham, Erik Wasson and Bernie Becker - 10/20/11 06:00 PM ET

FRIDAY'S BIG STORY:

After years in a holding pattern, President Obama will sign three free-trade deals with South Korea, Panama and Colombia as well as the renewal of Trade Adjustment Assistance on Friday.

Congress cleared the deals last week; the president was expected to make remarks in the Rose Garden afterward but the White House said Thursday those plans were nixed.

Meanwhile, an independent analysis reflects some interesting trends on the trade deals.

Lori Wallach, director of Public Citizen's Global Trade Watch, pointed out in an email on Thursday that there were several new voting firsts on trade among Democrats and Republicans.

The group's analysis of the votes show that a greater percentage of Democrats voted against the trade deals than on any other bill pushed by the Obama administration.

"We suspect this was in part because this was the first time that the U.S. International Trade Commission’s official studies of these FTAs projected up front that their implementation would increase the U.S. trade deficit," Wallach wrote.

More House Democrats voted against Obama on the accords than did House Democrats against former President Clinton’s North American Free Trade Agreement or the China WTO.

On the most economically significant pact since NAFTA, 130 House Democrats, or 67 percent, voted 'no' on the Korea deal. Colombia had the greatest opposition, including by House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), with 158 opposed, or 82.3 percent of all Democrats. Panama had a 123 'no' votes for a 64.1 percent total.

The deals — originally forged under former President George W. Bush — got more support from GOP members than any other trade deals passed under a Democratic president, breaking a consistent past pattern of Republicans voting in significant numbers against Democrat's trade accords. Republican levels of opposition were less than half of past votes, even those against GOP presidents.

THURSDAY NEWS WE'RE STILL WATCHING

Stalled minibus: At press time, lawmakers hadn't cleared the way for their passage home ... or for the 'minibus' spending bill, with an agreement on the next tranche of amendments remaining elusive.

Senate leaders Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) expressed their desire to complete work on the appropriations package by the end of the day, but an agreement was taking longer than expected to hammer out.

Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii) said he intends to try to move the seven remaining committee-reported appropriations bills to a floor vote in November. The Senate is out of session next week and will return the first week of November.

"Building on the progress we have made this week will make it less likely that we will be forced to resort to an omnibus or year-long continuing resolution down the road," he said on the Senate floor on Thursday.

There's agreement somewhere: Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) reached an agreement with Republicans to vote on President Obama’s Commerce secretary nominee, John Bryson.

The nominee has come under fire from Republicans for his previous support for cap-and-trade legislation and his role in founding a major environmental group in the 1970s, the National Resources Defense Council.

A vote is expected sometime this evening, although four hours of debate is allowed and would need to be yielded back.

BREAKING THURSDAY

Veni, vidi veto: The Obama administration on Thursday told House and Senate appropriators that the president will veto any 2012 spending bills that contain provisions blocking top administration priorities like healthcare and financial reforms, The Hill's Erik Wasson reports.

Revamping its semi-dormant mantra of “winning the future,” the White House also threatened a veto if the final version of spending bills cuts funding too much or fails to fund investments in education, innovation or infrastructure.

Perhaps not surprising: Republicans have latched on to a federal audit, released Thursday, that found that more than $3 billion worth of education credits could have been wrongly handed out by the IRS, our Bernie Becker reports.

"Enough is enough — it's time for the IRS to start taking proactive measures to stop erroneous payments on the front end," Rep. Charles Boustany Jr. (R-La.), the chairman of the House Ways and Means Oversight subcommittee, said in a statement.

WHAT YOU MIGHT HAVE MISSED

— Sen. Sanders gathers economists for his planned Fed overhaul bill

— Bernanke says no more stimulus

— Senate housing bill would sell excess properties to foreign investors

— Good-government groups weigh in on repatriation

— Hensarling can see supercommittee overhauling tax code

— IRS makes 2012 inflation, cost-of-living adjustments

— Plan to shed excess federal properties marches onward

— House Dems to SEC: Make companies come clean on political spending

— Higginbottom confirmed as deputy OMB head

— Chamber of Commerce spends $45.8M on lobbying

— Existing home sales fell last month, still above 2010 levels