House Ways and Means Chairman Richard Neal will lead the House Democrats' Trade Working Group, a task force charged with negotiating with the Trump administration to overhaul elements of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade agreement.
The Democratic members were appointed by Speaker Nancy Pelosi and are divided into four subgroups: drug pricing, labor, environment and enforcement.
Oregon Rep. Earl Blumenauer and Illinois Rep. Jan Schakowsky will lead the drug pricing team. California Reps. Jimmy Gomez and Mike Thompson will head up the labor group. Oregon Rep. Suzanne Bonamici and Connecticut Rep. John Larson will tackle environmental issues. And Alabama Rep. Terri Sewell and Connecticut Rep. Rosa DeLauro will work on enforcement.
Enforcement is the thorniest of issues, as Pelosi has made clear the Trump administration needs to reopen trade negotiations with Canada and Mexico to exact concessions. Pelosi controls the fate of the agreement, which the White House calls its top legislative priority, and has not committed to a floor vote.
The working group is expected to negotiate with U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer.
Article originally published on POLITICO Magazine