Bush says Columbia deal up to Pelosi
WASHINGTON (AP) - April 14, 2008 After a meeting with his Cabinet, Bush said it's not in
America's interest to "stiff an ally" like Colombia.
Bush sent the agreement to Capitol Hill earlier this month, but
the House, led by Democrats, decided to eliminate a rule forcing a
vote on the deal within 60 legislative days. The House's decision
probably kills consideration of the Colombia agreement this year,
leaving it for the next administration.
"This free trade agreement is in our national interests," Bush
said. "Yet that bill is dead unless the speaker schedules a
definite vote. This was an unprecedented move. It's not in our
country's interests that we stiff an ally like Colombia and that we
don't encourage our goods and services to be sold overseas."
Pelosi, D-Calif., who initiated the rules change, blames Bush
for submitting the agreement before a consensus was reached with
congressional leaders on outstanding differences. She has said that
whether the agreement is dead for the year depends on the good
faith of negotiations between Democrats and the White House.
Bush has staked out free trade as one of his chief economic
legacies, winning a bruising battle to implement the Central
American Free Trade Agreement with six countries in Latin America
as well as a number of individual pacts. While two other agreements
with Panama and South Korea are also pending, analysts said the
Colombia agreement is likely to be the last one that has any chance
of winning approval in Bush's last year in office.
The administration insisted the deal would be good for the
United States economically because it would eliminate high barriers
that U.S. exports to Colombia now face, while most Colombian
products are already entering the United States duty-free under
existing trade preference laws.
Trade also is shaping up as a key issue in the presidential
campaign and in the fight for control of Congress.
The administration charged that Democrats were forsaking a key
South American ally while Democrats said Colombia needed to do more
to halt the violence against union organizers before they would
consider the trade pact.
In explaining their opposition, Democrats have cited the
continued violence against organized labor in Colombia and
differences with the administration over how to extend a program
that helps U.S. workers displaced by foreign competition.
White House press Dana Perino told reporters later that unless
Pelosi scheduled a vote, she will be accused of killing the deal.
Perino said she was not aware of any conversations between Bush and
Pelosi since last week, but that presidential advisers are working
with lawmakers.
"The president believes she (Pelosi) made a choice to kill the
Colombia free trade agreement, and that if, and until, she
schedules a vote on the Colombia free trade agreement, she has, in
effect, killed it," Perino said.
Perino would not speculate about the prospects of getting such a
vote.
Bush also talked with members of his Cabinet about the troubled
U.S. economy and urged lawmakers to make his tax cuts permanent.
Noting that income taxes are due on Tuesday, Bush said the economic
stimulus package will allow some tax payments to be returned to
taxpayers.
"The second week of May, checks and/or credits to your account
will start coming to you," Bush said. "And that's going to be an
important part of making sure this economy begins to recover in a
way that will add confidence and hope."
"One way Congress can act is to make the tax cuts permanent. If
they really are that concerned about economic uncertainty, they
ought to create certainty in the tax code."
He said his administration has set up programs to help more
homeowners stay in their homes, but that Congress also needs to
modernize the Federal Housing Administration and implement other
changes that will encourage the housing market to turn around.
"Congress recently has been working on legislation for beach
monitoring and landscape conservation, and those are important
issues, but not nearly as important as FHA modernization and the
Colombia Free Trade Agreement or making the tax cuts permanent,"
Bush said.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said Bush's call to extend the
tax cuts would help multimillionaires and special interests, not
average working Americans. Reid said that stagnating incomes and
rising health care, education, food and energy prices are squeezing
middle-class families, who are looking for a change in U.S.
economic policy - "not the same economic ideas that got us into
this mess in the first place."