WASHINGTON, Sept. 22 (Yonhap) -- The U.S. Senate, led by Democrats, voted Thursday to approve the renewal of a worker training program, raising hopes of the ratification of free trade pacts with South Korea, Colombia and Panama.
President Barack Obama's push for extending the Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA), aimed at providing job training and financial support for workers displaced by trade, was opposed by Republican lawmakers who doubt the effectiveness of the half-a-century program amid federal budget constraints.
The approval of the TAA bill, coupled with the renewal of the Generalized System of Preferences, marks a step forward in efforts to ratify free trade agreements (FTAs) with the three nations, first signed several years ago.
It remains unclear, however, whether and when the legislation will be endorsed by the Republican-controlled House of Representatives.
Obama has reportedly been seeking assurances that the renewal of the TAA will be passed in both chambers of Congress before submitting the bills implementing the FTAs.
U.S. and South Korean government officials hope that the FTA between the two, dubbed the "KORUS FTA," will be ratified before South Korean President Lee Myung-bak makes a state visit to the U.S. in mid-October.
House Speaker John Boehner reiterated his call for Obama to send the FTAs to Congress immediately.
"If the president submits these agreements promptly, I'm confident that all four bills can be signed into law by mid-October," he said in a statement shortly after the Senate vote.
