Make the case for or against

House Republicans are under intensifying pressure to schedule a vote on a bipartisan China currency bill. 

The GOP leaders — Speaker John Boehner (Ohio), Majority Leader Eric Cantor (Va.) and Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy (Calif.) — voted against a China currency measure last year.

{mosads}But 99 House Republicans voted for it, and many of them want to vote for it again. 

There is widespread agreement that China is manipulating its currency, which hurts American businesses. Yet Boehner and other Republicans are skeptical that the bipartisan Senate bill will fix the problem. 

Boehner last week said, “I think it’s pretty dangerous to be moving legislation through the United States Congress forcing someone to deal with the value of their currency. This is well beyond, I think, what the Congress ought to be doing.”

Democrats pounced on Boehner’s reaction, claiming the House GOP is blocking popular legislation that will create jobs. So the debate is on, and Democrats believe they have the upper hand.

That Democrats believe this to be a powerful campaign issue is clear from the fact that, when they controlled the House in 2010, they scheduled the China currency vote a month before the elections. China-bashing in an election year is common, and both sides of the aisle do it.

House Democrats, led by Rep. Mark Critz (Pa.), have circulated a discharge petition to force Boehner’s hand. If they collect 218 votes, the currency bill will hit the floor. 

Boehner has options, of course. He knows some in his conference want a vote, so he could opt to craft a different bill and pass it through the lower chamber. Then he could let it die in conference. 

The Hill asked some House Republicans who voted for the bill last year whether they would sign the discharge petition. Some said no, deferring to the leaders. (Signing would not go over well with leaders.)

Other Republicans had an unusual answer: They said they might sign if Obama commits to signing the legislation. 

Obama, in the words of Critz, has been “wishy-washy” on the topic. 

But surely it is wishy-washy of Republicans to want to know the president’s position before knowing theirs.

Republicans and Democrats are elected to represent their constituencies, and their votes shouldn’t be contingent on what the executive branch thinks. 

There are cogent arguments for and against the China currency legislation. Members of the House and Senate should debate it, and then decide whether to pass it — or kill it.