Trent Lott: “our goal this afternoon is to get to a process or an agreement that allows the Senate to deal with the very important…”

“our goal this afternoon is to get to a process or an agreement that allows the Senate to deal with the very important issues pending before the Senate: trade promotion authority, the Andean Trade Preservation Act, the GSP, as well as the trade adjustment assistance. These are four very big issues, very important for our country and other countries--in the case of the Andean area-- and for the workers of this country. The way it has been put together, it is very difficult to work through all of these issues and get a result. Serious efforts are underway to see if we can achieve an agreement that produces a result. We also have to deal with a process issue, how to make that happen. A few moments ago, I filed a first-degree amendment to the Andean Trade Preference Act and filed cloture. I think that is the way to proceed. I think we need a showing of who wants to get trade promotion authority and how we will move this to a conclusion.”