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President Bush and Republican leaders on Wednesday clashed with top congressional Democrats over Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s (D-Calif.) move to avoid a vote on a Colombia free trade agreement. While Republicans are blasting Pelosi’s decision to prevent a vote on the substance of the agreement, the Speaker and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) criticized the Bush administration for not doing enough to boost an ailing economy. “The president wanted to spend most of the day talking about the Colombian free trade agreement,” Reid told reporters following the meeting. “We spent most of the time with the president today talking about the state of our economy.” Democrats are seeking to paint Republicans as pro-Wall Street but indifferent to Main Street as the economy is evolving into the dominant issue of the election cycle. “There’s more to America than Wall Street,” Reid noted, while Pelosi remained firm on her position on the Colombia trade pact. “If the president wants us to consider a Colombia free trade agreement, which we are pleased and responsible to do, we cannot consider that unless we address the economic insecurity of America’s working families,” the House Speaker said. Republicans at the meeting criticized Pelosi. “I’m very disappointed in the Speaker’s decision to delay the vote on Colombia,” said House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio), arguing that such a delay would in effect “kill” the trade pact. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) argued that passing the agreement with Colombia is a “no-brainer.” “It’s good for the American economy, it’s important in terms of having friends overseas know they can depend on us,” he stated. “And I think both of those items make it very important that we do it very quickly.” |
