The large trade bill making its way through the Senate included a number of contentious provisions, many of which opened up U.S. markets and increased the likelihood that certain American workers would lose their jobs. This amendment was an attempt to protect some of those workers: it would require U.S. trade negotiators to seek competitive deals for textile exports, extend assistance to workers dislocated by trade agreements under a larger existing program, and give grants to community colleges to aid worker retraining efforts. Progressives supported the amendment because it helped protect the very workers potentially threatened by changes in the larger bill. The amendment passed, 66-33.