The subject of this vote was final passage of a conference report which would grant the president with trade promotion authority on international trade agreements reached before June 1, 2005. The new executive power would limit congressional influence in international trade agreements to an up-or-down vote; no amendments to those agreements would be allowed during congressional debate on the matter. Progressives opposed the conference report because, in their view, congressional influence in international trade agreements should be preserved; providing the president with added leverage in international bargaining, they argued, would undermine the constitutionally-mandated separation of powers between the executive and legislative branches of government. The conference report passed the House by a narrow 215- 212 margin, was later adopted by the Senate, and was signed into law by President Bush.