Bush prods Congress to pass Colombia trade pact

By Doug Palmer

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President George W. Bush urged U.S. lawmakers on Tuesday to approve a controversial free trade agreement with Colombia to show support for a strong U.S. ally entangled in a crisis with its neighbors.

"If we fail to approve this agreement, we will let down a close ally. We will damage our credibility in the region and we will embolden the demagogues in our hemisphere," Bush said after talking by phone with Colombian President Alvaro Uribe.

The Andean region has become embroiled in a diplomatic and military crisis after a raid by Colombian troops into Ecuador on Saturday that killed a top commander of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, FARC.

FARC is considered a terrorist group by Uribe and his backer, the United States. But Ecuador and Venezuela have responded to the raid by cutting diplomatic ties and ordering troops to their borders with Colombia.

"President Uribe told me that one of the most important ways America can demonstrate its support for Colombia is by moving forward with a free trade agreement that we negotiated," Bush said. "So Republicans and Democrats in Congress need to come together and approve this agreement."

The White House has tried for months to persuade Democratic leaders in Congress leaders to schedule a vote on the Colombia agreement. But many Democrats from districts with heavy union membership are strongly opposed to the pact.

Reflecting those views, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has insisted Colombia show more progress in reducing killings of trade unionists and putting murderers in jail before Congress votes on the free trade deal.

House Republican leaders echoed Bush's call and said approving the pact would help stop anti-American sentiment being spread by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez.

"A dangerous ideology is on the rise in Latin America --

fueled by Hugo Chavez's irresponsible, unhinged rhetoric, and financed by his statist oil regime," House Republican Whip Roy Blunt said in a statement urging House leaders to set a "simple up-or-down vote" on the Colombia pact.

But a House Democratic aide, speaking on condition he not be identified, said it was doubtful the Andean region turmoil would motivate congressional leaders to act.

"The two issues are separate -- the regional diplomatic and military crisis will not be solved by approving the Colombia FTA," the House aide said.

The Colombia agreement is protected by White House trade promotion authority, which requires Congress to approve or reject trade deals within 90 legislative days without making any changes. However, on Tuesday, Bush once again stopped short of saying he would use that option to force a vote.

John Murphy, vice president for international affairs at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, said the White House is nearing the point where it may decide to send the agreement to Congress, even if House leaders don't cooperate.

"To get to a vote this year, the administration will have to act sooner rather than later," Murphy said.

(Reporting by Doug Palmer; Editing by Eric Walsh)