U.S. House Speaker Boehner upbeat on fast-track trade prospects

Senate Democrats on Tuesday combined to block legislation to grant the White House authority to conclude trade deals and speed them through Congress, saying they first wanted a commitment from Republicans to push ahead with three other trade bills.

Speaking to reporters, Boehner dismissed the failure as "a little bump in the road" and said: "At the end of the day, I think there's a majority in the House and Senate for giving this president Trade Promotion Authority."

Under fast track, Congress can either approve or reject trade deals negotiated by the administration but not amend deals like the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a potential legacy-defining achievement for Obama.

Washington's negotiating partners say enacting U.S. fast-track legislation to expedite passage of any trade deal is vital to clinching an agreement that would create a free trade zone covering 40 percent of the world economy.

Senate Republicans and Democrats are discussing how to resolve the impasse, but gave little ground in comments on the Senate floor.

A major sticking point is that one of the bills contains rules punishing countries that manipulate their currencies to make exports cheaper, which is opposed by the Obama administration.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Republican, said it would not fly to package all four bills together.

"The demand to merge four separate trade bills, including a customs bill, into one trade bill, isn't a strategy designed to pass better trade legislation, but a poison pill designed to kill it," he said. "So we certainly won't be doing that."

McConnell did not comment on a compromise proposal to take the currency provisions out of the legislation, which a source familiar with Senate negotiations said could be subject to a separate vote.

Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid countered that it was unacceptable Republicans were not offering the opportunity to debate customs enforcement or trade benefits for African nations.

"All the Republican leader needs to do is say 'yes' to have a debate on these trade bills," he said.

House Ways and Means Chairman Paul Ryan, a Republican, said

it was always planned for all four bills to have a vote in the House and was optimistic senators would work out a way forward.

"I can't imagine Democrats would deal such a failure to their president, to the leader of their party. I have every reason to believe they will work it out," Ryan told Reuters.

(Reporting by Richard Cowan, Susan Cornwell and Krista Hughes; Editing by Will Dunham and Alan Crosby)