* Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has scheduled a procedural vote targeting China’s currency practices for Monday and Chuck Schumer expects it to get bipartisan support and sail to Obama’s desk
* Obama has been silent on it, says it’s reviewing the legislation
* Reid and Schumer say the best option for creating jobs is to level the US trade deficit with China - the bill’s important to senators from rust states which have lost a lot of jobs to China, and where Dems are trying to hold on to seats and the Senate majority
* Sherrod Brown Oh, Bob Casey Pa and Debbie Stabenow Mi have all been prominent supporters of the measure, which looks to pressure Beijing into letting the value of its currency rise - it’s believed China keeps its currency too low
* Bill would require US to treat currency manipulation as an anti competitive trade practice and take countervailing action to boost domestic companies, and set in motion govt studies of intnl monetary policy and currency exchange rates
* Republicans in the Senate are generally supportive — Jeff Sessions (Ala.) is a key ally of Senate Democrats on the issue
*** But Eric Cantor’s office says there are no plans to schedule a vote in the House - Cantor, Boehner and McCarthy, the Whip all voted against the measure last year
** Senate Dems could criticize the GOP House if the currency measure doesn’t move forward
*** Voters (6 in 10) want US officials to “get tough with China” but the conservative Club for Growth has weighed in on some Senate races where China could be an issue