"Fast track" trade negotiation authority was one of the top items of the president's agenda in 2002. It would have given him the power to submit completed trade deals to the Senate for approval without amendments. This authority was included in a larger trade bill that also lowered a number of tariffs and extended a program of duty-free status on imports from 140 countries. Allen (R-VA) proposed an amendment to this bill that would establish a pilot program of low-interest loans for workers displaced by trade agreements, with the goal of helping them make their mortgage payments. Progressives supported this amendment to help those most vulnerable to the changes in the larger bill. However, Baucus (D-MT) brought a motion to table (kill) this amendment, making a vote in favor a vote against the mortgage assistance program. The motion passed, 50-49, with Vice President Cheney casting the tie-breaking vote, and the amendment fell.