This was an amendment to a larger bill that granted low tariffs and duty-free status for a variety of imports and gave the president "fast track" trade negotiation authority--the power to hand completed trade agreements to the Senate for approval, with no amendments allowed. Fast track in particular was a top priority for the Bush administration. As a part of this bill, the Democrats in the Senate had attached a provision that gave up to $5000 a year of wage insurance to workers over 50 displaced by international trade. Progressives backed the provision, because most of the bill removed protections for American jobs, so they appreciated anything that mitigated the effects of those changes. However, many conservatives labeled the measure "socialism" and vowed to pull it from the bill. They proposed an amendment to strike the language from the bill. Proponents of the measure, in turn, submitted a motion to table (kill) this amendment. A vote for the motion, then, was a vote in favor of wage insurance and for the Progressive position. The motion to table passed, 58-38.