One of the Bush administration's primary legislative goals in 2002 was to acquire "fast track" trade negotiation authority: the ability 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 the Generalized System of Preferences, a list of products that could enter the U.S. duty-free. The vote at hand concerned an amendment that gave recently retired steel workers a one-year extension of a federal health insurance credit. Progressives supported this amendment as a way to soften the blow of weakened trade protections. But 60 supporters are required to bring anything to a vote in the Senate; otherwise, debate continues indefinitely. The formal process is called cloture, and in this case cloture could not get the 60 votes needed. Backers fell four votes short, 56-40, and the amendment was pulled from consideration.