Passage of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) by the Senate Finance Committee Tuesday, via a 25-to-three vote, is the first consideration of the deal by Senate Committees.
The Senate parliamentarian determined Monday that the USMCA legislation will also have to be considered by the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee; the Environment and Public Works Committee; the Senate Appropriations Committee; the Foreign Relations Committee; the Budget Committee; and the Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee.
Several of those committees have indicated they will hold their votes next week.
Their action on the bill does not have to take place in any particular order and the measure cannot be amended – it is an up-or-down vote in each panel.
Under U.S. trade law, the USMCA legislation will be discharged from the panels within 15 days whether they act on it or not.
But the process of getting their markups scheduled and completed will add additional time to the USMCA approval process. Indications are the initial consideration by the full Senate may not come until late next week at the earliest.
USMCA is still fully expected to easily clear the Senate, but the combination of additional committees considering the implementing legislation and the still-pending impeachment trial in the Senate clouds the exact timing at this point.
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