BREAKING: K Street Pushing Colombia FTA Vote This Week

The Hill [1] has this breaking report today:

Trade lobbyists expect the Bush administration to kick off a fierce election-year battle over trade by introducing legislation implementing the controversial Colombia free trade agreement (FTA) to Congress by the end of this week. By doing so, the administration could force Congress into voting on the agreement. Because the deal was signed before the president’s fast-track authority expired last summer, it remains subject to special rules that speed up consideration.

Colombia has a horrific human rights record. More union organizers are executed there than in the rest of the world combined. Its president has been tied [2] to the leaders of paramilitary gangs who execute these organizers. Meanwhile, polls [3] show Americans are opposed to more NAFTA-style trade deals, like the Bush administration's Colombia proposal. And yet, President Bush - the most unpopular president in contemporary history - is apparently looking to make his last big "accomplishment" another NAFTA-style deal as a final favor to K Street.

In response to the news, Congressman Mike Michaud (D-ME), co-chair of the House Trade Working Group and Congressman Phil Hare (D-IL), a member of the group, released the following statement:

“If the Bush Administration decides to unilaterally submit the Colombia FTA to Congress—this week or any other—we will work hard to convince members on both sides of the aisle to join us in opposition. Simply put, the Colombia FTA would be bad for America, Colombia, and workers around the world. It is based on the flawed NAFTA-CAFTA model which led to the outsourcing of millions of high-paying American jobs. To make matters worse, Colombia continues to hold the dubious distinction of being the most dangerous place in the world to be a union organizer. Thirty-nine trade unionists were murdered in Colombia in 2007...While we ultimately believe the Colombia FTA would fail on an up or down vote, we encourage the Democratic leadership to make it clear to the President that should he submit this legislation unilaterally, they will use all the tools at their disposal to ensure this unfair agreement is not enacted. With the U.S. economy on the brink of recession—63,000 jobs lost in February, an annual trade deficit over $700 billion, and foreclosures reaching all-time highs, the American people cannot afford another failed Bush trade agreement.”

Stay tuned...