House Republicans push for Colombia pact vote

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republicans pressured U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Wednesday to set a vote on a free trade pact with Colombia, which they said would die if Congress does not approve it this year.

"If the 110th Congress adjourns without a vote in both the House and the Senate, the agreement will be well and truly dead," senior Republicans on the House Ways and Means Committee and the House Rules Committee said in a letter to colleagues.

The free trade deal with Colombia, one of the United States' staunchest allies in Latin America, has been in limbo since April, when Pelosi rebuffed an effort by President George W. Bush to force a vote on the pact.

Bush submitted the agreement under White House trade promotion authority, a law passed in 2002 which required Congress to vote approve or reject trade agreements within 90 days and without making any amendments.

However, Pelosi pushed through a rule change allowing her to delay action indefinitely on the pact.

She said Bush had ignored her warning that Congress was not ready to vote on agreement, which many Democrats strongly oppose on the grounds that they believe Colombia has not done enough to curb violence against labor groups.

Rep. Jim McCrery said he and two other Republicans sent their letter "to make sure everybody is aware that next year is not an option. We've got to get Colombia done this year."

The agreement's remaining protections under trade promotion authority will expire if it is not passed before the end of the current congressional session, he said.

Moving a high-profile agreement like the Colombia pact through Congress without barring lawmakers from offering amendments would doom the pact, McCrery said.