After President Bush this morning sent his proposal for a free trade agreement with Colombia to Capitol Hill, Democrats quickly responded by saying it is likely to fail.

"By sending up the Colombia FTA legislation under circumstances that maximize the chances it will fail, he will be adding one more mistake to his legacy and one more mess for the next president to clean up," Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, Nevada Democrat, said in a statement issued just after Bush shipped his agreement to Congress. "Many Democrats continue to have serious concerns about an agreement that creates the highest level of economic integration with a country where workers and their families are routinely murdered and subjected to violence and intimidation for seeking to exercise their most basic economic rights. And the perpetrators of the violence have near total impunity."

Reid said Colombia "has undoubtedly made progress on this front," but maintained that "the level of violence against trade unionists is still the worst in the world."

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi voiced her opposition the agreement as well, saying she would not support it because it fails to promote human rights and give protections for union workers.

"President Bush's statement today regarding his unprecedented decision to send a free trade agreement to Congress without following established protocols of congressional consultation is counter-productive, jeopardizing prospects for its passage," Pelosi said in a joint statement with House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charles Rangel, New York Democrat. "Despite progress made by President Uribe, Colombia remains a dangerous place to be a labor activist, and for those who commit these acts of violence, there is little threat of prosecution or punishment. Sustained progress on the ground remains a prerequisite for our support."

Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Hillary Clinton, New York Democrat, today echoed Pelosi's opposition. Yesterday her campaign announced chief strategist Mark Penn was resigning amid furor over his meeting with Colombian officials as a private PR strategist hired to help the plan win approval.

"I oppose signing any trade deal with Colombia while violence against trade unionists continues and the perpetrators are not brought to justice," Clinton said in a statement issued by her presidential campaign today. "The United States should be pursuing trade agreements that promote human rights and worker rights, not overlook egregious abuses. I will vote against the president's Colombia trade agreement, and will urge my Senate colleagues to do the same."

White House spokesman Tony Fratto told The Washington Times that the trade agreement would equalize trade practices with Colombia by eliminating tariffs on most U.S. goods flowing to Colombia. Fratto said 80 percent of U.S. products entering Colombia face up to 35 percent while 90 percent of products entering the United States from Colombia are duty free. Fratto said the bill would "level the playing field" by giving duty-free access to 80 percent of U.S. products sent to Colombia.

Fratto said under the leadership of Colombian President Alvaro Uribe (pictured above), homicides have declined by 40 percent and murders of unionists have fallen by 80 percent since 20002.

"The improvement has been so dramatic as to make some of these criticisms fall flat if you look at the facts," Fratto said, dismissing Democrats' call for more progress. "There could not be a more one-sided trade agreement, maybe in the history of this country, of trade agreements ... I don't know what more of a commitment you can get than the President of Colombia's goal to get to zero [deaths]. He is firmly committed to it."

Fratto said if a congressional rejection of the agreement would have major repercussions on U.S. relations with South America.

"It will lead people to question the commitment of the United States to trade and to supporting our allies, so it would be a pretty awful development if that were to happen," said Fratto, who said no trade agreement "has ever been easy," and that he anticipates a lively tussle on the bill.

"What I would hope is that leaders within the House and Senate would let individual members cast their own votes on the agreement and that each member gets a chance to take a look at the facts," Fratto said. "If you are a member of Congress and a member of the House or Senate, you'll have a hard time voting against it because this is a trade agreement that has great advantages for American businesses, workers, farmers and ranchers."

— Carrie Sheffield, Web editor, The Washington Times