Sarah Lueck profiles Senate Finance Chairman Max Baucus. As Finance Committee Chair, he will play a key role in upcoming trade debates: Key Senate Figure Walks Fine Line (Wall Street Journal, Apr 11):
As Democrats wrestle over how far to go in raising taxes, boosting spending and curbing free trade, one of their most influential players is a hard-to-label deal maker who regularly breaks with his party.
The new Senate Finance chairman, Montana Sen. Max Baucus, is also up for re-election in 2008 -- further complicating his calculations. To satisfy Montana's unpredictable mix of conservatism and populism, Mr. Baucus must consider when to stick to the Democratic line and when to side with Republicans....
But so is the free trade ["unpopular" - Ben] that Mr. Baucus often has been associated with. In the next few weeks, he will oversee the Senate debate on key trade pacts. In February, the Montana state senate passed a resolution calling for a harder line on U.S. trade policy. "They Work for Us," a progressive political organization connected to labor groups, ran radio ads criticizing Mr. Baucus for his past support for free trade.
The senator says he is talking with key players about the issue and plans this week to meet with freshman senators who campaigned on trade -- including fellow Montanan Jon Tester -- to discuss the issue. "The objective clearly is more jobs -- more income -- for more American people. And often when you listen closely and ask questions, one will find the premises are not that different," Mr. Baucus says. He says he wants "sufficient job protections, job provisions for people who do lose their jobs on account of not only trade, but just globalization."...
Here's his Washington Post "Congress Votes" profile: Max Baucus, and his Senate office website: United States Senator Max Baucus.
Menzie Chinn has been wondering if Democrats really are more protectionist than Republicans: Are the Democrats Truly More Protectionist? (Econbrowser, Nov 19 2006); Are Democrats Truly More Protectionist? (Part II) (Econbrowser, Apr 10, 2007).
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