This amendment, proposed by Byrd (D-WV), was part of debate on a trade bill. The Bush administration supported the larger bill, in part because it lowered tariffs on many foreign imports, but mostly because it granted the president "fast track" trade negotiation status. Under fast track, the president could submit a fully negotiated trade agreement to the Senate for approval without amendment, thus giving him greater control over the agreement's content. Existing law authorized members of the Senate Finance Committee and the House Ways and Means Committee to serve as advisors to the president on trade policy and to oversee its implementation. The Byrd amendment would have altered the composition of this group to exclude members of these two committees and include 11 other members from each chamber. The change was an attempt to include more members in trade policy as an offset for excluding Congress through fast track. As such, it earned the support of Progressives, who were upset at the power fast track gave the president to dismantle labor and environmental protections. The vote at hand here was on a motion to table (kill) Byrd's amendment, so Progressives voted "no." Despite their opposition, the motion passed by a large margin, 66-32.