Bill author Sen. Sherrod Brown
As
Harry Reid prepares for a vote on legislation addressing Chinese currency manipulation, the
Club for Growth is opposing it—and letting legislators and presidential candidates know that support for the bill will go on their permanent record (in the form of the CfG's legislative scorecard).
"Sherrod Brown’s bill would result in higher costs to American consumers, and would be devastating to economic growth," Club for Growth President Chris Chocola said in a statement. "Starting a trade war with China will have no winners and many losers. The Club for Growth instead urges Congress to pass pro-growth legislation that will reduce the cost of doing business so we can create more jobs here."
I don't know about you, but when it comes down to Sherrod Brown versus the Club for Growth, I know who I side with.
In a recent letter to the Senate, Scott Paul of the Alliance for American Manufacturing (PDF) wrote that "Taking action to remove protectionist market distortions would not result in a 'trade war,' but failing to act will mean that the U.S. has accepted 'trade surrender.'" He also pointed to recent history, which:
...shows that China only acts when presented with the threat of real consequences. Faced with a similar situation in 2005, the U.S. Senate acted decisively and passed bipartisan legislation introduced by Senators Charles Schumer (NY) and Lindsey Graham (SC) by a vote of 67-33. This action prompted China to steadily appreciate its currency by 21 percent until it again resumed its peg to the dollar in July 2008.
Graham is a cosponsor of the current legislation as well, along with Richard Burr, Jeff Sessions, Olympia Snowe, Susan Collins and 14 Democrats. According to Politico, the bill also "resembles language in Mitt Romney’s 160-page economic plan."
A poll sponsored by the Alliance for American Manufacturing finds strong support for legislation along these lines. However, the Club for Growth gets a lot of media attention and puts serious money into Republican candidates, and pressure from them could sway some undecided Republican senators.