Losing Ground

The White House and Congress fumble efforts to fashion a trade policy

The showdown pitted a lame-duck President looking to make a dramatic stand against a Congress determined to impose its will. As the Senate prepared to vote on the omnibus trade bill last week, President Reagan vowed to veto the package if the lawmakers did not remove a provision requiring that companies give workers 60 days' notice of plant closings. But the House had already passed the bill by a veto-proof 312 to 107, and the Senate was not about to back down. As the Senate's Democratic leaders struggled on Wednesday to line up votes and woo as many Republicans as possible...

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