BIPARTISAN SENATE VOTE SEEKS MORE SAY ON TARIFFS

Washington — Lawmakers went on record Wednesday to express their frustration with the Trump administration's growing use of tariffs as the Senate passed a nonbinding resolution designed to give Congress more say about trade penalties imposed in the name of national security.

The measure, which passed by an 88-11 vote, directs Capitol Hill negotiators trying to reconcile separate spending bills to include language giving Congress a role when such tariffs are put in place.

Those negotiators are free to ignore the Senate's guidance, and the role that Congress would play would have to be worked out down the road. Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., who pushed the tariff language, acknowledged the effort is “a baby step.”