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WASHINGTON (AP) -- Rep. David Bonior said Saturday that the spirit of bipartisanship in Congress that emerged after the terrorist attacks collapsed when Republicans "tried to leave working people behind."
In the Democratic Party's weekly radio address, Bonior said agreement over legislation to jump-start the economy failed because it was weighted toward corporate tax breaks and did nothing to improve health care.
"When we grant $25 billion in retroactive tax rebates to big corporations at a time when hundreds of thousands of U.S. workers are being laid off, people are going to stand up and say 'this is wrong,"' said Bonior, of Michigan.
Bonior said that after success this past year passing resolutions to deal with terrorism and setting new environmental standards, votes to grant President Bush trade promotion authority "ruptured the tremendous spirit of unity."
Trade promotion authority, or "fast track," gives the president the power to negotiate trade agreements that Congress can accept or reject but cannot change.
The House passed trade promotion authority by a highly partisan 215-214 vote earlier this month. Democrats strongly opposed the bill, saying it didn't adequately protect labor rights and the environment in future trade talks.
"It's working people who take it on the chin during rocky economic times," Bonior said. "In Congress the battles were fierce because Republicans tried to leave working people behind."
