The Senate approved the trade promotion bill on Wednesday, giving President Obama an important victory by allowing fast-track authority for the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade agreement. Also approved was a bill promising assistance to workers displaced by future trade agreements, allocating $2.7 billion in funds dedicated to worker re-training and education.
House Democrats, backed by strong support from labor unions seeking to avoid the migration of jobs overseas, had voted no on the worker assistance bill earlier this month, hoping to sink the overall trade authority bill. In order to pass both measures, Senate Republicans separated the two bills, offering an expanded tax credit for health insurance purchases, as well as wage subsidies for older workers displaced to lower paying jobs.
See "Trade Authority Bill Wins Final Approval in Senate", Jonathan Weisman, The New York Times, June 25, 2015