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Bush asks Congress act "urgently" on Colombia deal
31 Mar 2008 19:12:31 GMT
 Source: Reuters
WASHINGTON, March 31 (Reuters) - President George W. Bush urged U.S. lawmaker to pass a controversial free trade pact with Colombia "as soon as possible," but did not say when he would submit the agreement to Congress.

"Congress needs to act urgently to approve the Colombian Free Trade Agreement," Bush said, as he was leaving Washington on Monday for summit meeting with NATO leaders.

He also urged Congress to pass other legislation to modernize the Federal Housing Administration and to provide U.S. intelligence experts with the "tools they need to monitor terrorist communications."

"These are all vital priorities, and I ask members of both parties to get these important pieces of legislation to my desk as soon as possible," Bush said.

Many Democrats, including Democratic presidential candidates Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, oppose the Colombia free trade agreement because they say the Colombian government still has not done enough to stop murders of trade unionist and put their killers in jail.

"President Bush just doesn't get it. Our so-called 'courageous ally in South America' is home to the worst violence against union members in the entire world," Rep. Phil Hare, an Illinois Democrat, said in a statement.

"Thirty-nine trade unionists were murdered in 2007, and another 10 to date in 2008. Of the more than 2,500 murders of trade unionists since 1986, only 80 cases -- around 3 percent -- have resulted in convictions," Hare said.

The Bush administration argues Colombia has made significant progress in reducing violence over the past five years and warns rejecting the agreement would hurt a strong U.S. ally in a volatile region of Latin America.

Earlier this month, U.S. Trade Representative Susan Schwab said she expected Bush to submit the Colombia free trade agreement to Congress "very shortly" after lawmakers returned this week from a break.

A spokesman for the U.S. Trade Representative's office said on Monday he could not confirm if Bush would send the agreement to Congress this week. A White House spokesman was not immediately available to comment.

House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi has said Bush should not send the Colombia pact to Congress until lawmakers have passed legislation to expand the federal retraining and unemployment benefits for workers who have lost their job because of trade.

The White House has threatened to veto a House bill to extend the Trade Adjustment Assistance program to service industry and public sector employees. But Bush has said he remains ready to work with Congress on an expanded program. (Editing by Philip Barbara)


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Colombia's President Alvaro Uribe delivers a speech during a meeting in San Jose del Guaviare, some 400 km ( 249 miles) south of Bogota, March 29, 2008. Colombia said on Saturday ...


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Last updated:Mon Mar 31 19:11:18 2008