Capitol Hill Briefing 

# Free Trade, Free Markets: Rating the 112th Congress 

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Date and Time 

June 18, 2013 12 - 1:30 PM EDT 

Location 

385 Russell Senate Office Building 

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##### Featuring 

Featuring **Senator Jeff Flake (R‑AZ)**; and **Bill Watson**, Trade Policy Analyst, Herbert A. Stiefel Center for Trade Policy Studies, Cato Institute; moderated by **Laura Odato**, Director of Government Affairs, Cato Institute. 

While many members of Congress claim to support free trade, Cato’s congressional trade votes database tells a different story. Rather than simply noting support or opposition to trade liberalization, Cato’s *Free Trade, Free Markets* methodology distinguishes between trade barriers and trade subsidies. As a result, the database allows researchers to evaluate members of Congress more precisely. In particular, voting patterns during the 112th Congress shed light on the relative importance of ideology, regionalism, and partisanship in setting trade policy. Many members who consistently support lowering barriers also consistently support expanding subsidies. So who are the real free traders in Congress? And what do the voting records of the 112th Congress tell us about the prospects for trade policy in the current term?

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