Bush forces vote on free trade agreement

WASHINGTON (AP) — Congress is getting a controversial U.S.-Colombia free trade agreement from President Bush and must vote on it within 90 legislative days.

Many Democrats and union groups denounced Bush’s decision Monday, raising the prospect that the deal will be defeated.

Democrats contend that Colombia has not done enough to halt violence, protect labor activists and demobilize paramilitary organizations. The president disagreed, saying Colombia has addressed the issues.

“If Congress fails to approve this agreement, it would not only abandon a brave ally; it would send a signal throughout the region that America cannot be counted on to support its friends,” Bush said in a ceremony with members of his Cabinet where he signed the letter transmitting the agreement to Congress.

Bush’s action will force Congress to take up the proposal under a fast-track process that will require votes within 90 legislative days, which counts the days that Congress is in session. Officials said Bush is acting now in order to force a vote before Congress leaves in the fall for the campaign season.

Democrats and labor unions blasted the move, the first time a president has used his fast-track authority to force a congressional vote over the objections of the party controlling Congress.

“The president’s decision to act unilaterally in sending the free trade agreement disregards three decades of established precedent under fast-track legislation and demonstrates yet again his disrespect for Congress,” said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charlie Rangel said they could not support the Colombia pact “under present circumstances.”

“The president’s apparent disregard for the economic insecurity faced by millions of struggling American families highlights a misplaced set of priorities,” Rangel and Pelosi said in a joint statement.