WASHINGTON — The Democratic-led House, in an election-year showdown with the White House, on Thursday effectively denied President Bush a vote anytime soon on a free-trade agreement with Colombia, a key South American ally.
The House voted 224-195 to eliminate a rule forcing it to vote on the trade agreement within 60 legislative days of the president’s submitting it to Congress. Bush sent the agreement to Capitol Hill on Tuesday, starting a 90-day clock for the House and then the Senate to either approve or reject the pact.
The House action in all likelihood kills consideration of the Colombia agreement this year, leaving it for the next administration. Both of the Democrats competing for their party’s nomination, Sens. Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton, have expressed skepticism about the benefits of free-trade agreements.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who initiated the rules change, blamed Bush for submitting the agreement to Congress before a consensus was reached with congressional leaders on outstanding differences. She said whether the agreement is dead for the year “depends on the good faith” of negotiations between Democrats and the White House.
She said she warned Bush in a phone conversation Monday that the agreement would be defeated if a vote were taken now.
