Senate OKs Obama request for additional trade powers

Fast-track authority bill now faces tough battle in the House.

WASHINGTON — The Republican-led Senate has handed President Barack Obama a major victory by approving his request for enhanced trade negotiating authorit y.

The bill now faces a tough battle in the House.

The Senate voted 6237 Friday to endorse Obama’s request for “fast track” negotiating authorit y. It would let him present trade agreements that Congress can ratify or reject, but not change.

Obama says fast track would improve chances for a long-negotiated trade deal with 11 other Pacific Rim nations.

Labor unions and many liberals oppose the bill. They say free-trade deals send U.S. jobs overseas.

Obama lobbied hard on trade. He phoned numerous senators, and repeatedly sent top aides to talk with lawmakers. He says U.S. products must reach more foreign markets.

Most Senate Democrats opposed the bill.

Meanwhile, veterans would get specialized medical care from private doctors more easily under a bill the Senate approved Friday.

The measure relaxes a rule that makes getting specialized care from local doctors difficult for some veterans, especially those in rural areas.

Senators approved the bill by voice vote as they rushed to wrap up legislative work before a weeklong Memorial Day recess.

The Senate bill would open up private care to veterans who live within 40 miles of a medical facilit y run by the Department of Veterans Affairs, as long as the VA site does not offer the care required.

Senators said the measure was needed because some veterans were unable to get federally paid medical care from private doctors under the new Veterans Choice Act. The law blocks veterans from getting private care if they live within 40 miles of a VA medical facilit y, even if the veteran needs specialized care that is farther away.

Lawmakers from both parties have criticized the 40-mile rule, which they say goes against their intention to put the needs of veterans ahead of all other concerns, including cost.

Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kan., said the VA was deliberately interpreting the 40-mile rule to deny veterans needed care. The VA recently tweaked the rule so it measures 40 miles by driving distance, rather than in a straight line.

Moran, who sponsored the Senate bill, said it “puts the veteran first and provides the fix the VA says they need to make certain that veterans are not dismissed or forgotten just because of where they live.”