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In a direct challenge to Pres. George Bush, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced today the House will change its rules to avoid a required vote on a controversial free-trade agreement with Colombia backed by Bush.

Bush sent the trade agreement to Congress Tuesday. But Pelosi’s proposal would remove the timetable that says Congress must take up trade bills within 90 legislative days. Pelosi plans to propose the change to the full House Thursday.

“The president took action” Pelosi said. “I will take mine tomorrow.”

The Colombia trade deal - increasingly in the news as it becomes a political issue during an election year - is criticized by most Democrats as a deal that will hurt American workers. Democrats recently lost an effort to pass legislation designed to expand programs to assist American workers as jobs are relocated abroad.

Democrats have also cited violence against union organizers in Colombia as further reason to disapprove the deal.

Bill Samuel, the AFL-CIO’s legislative director, told Associated Press he thought Pelosi’s action would effectively stop any further action on the agreement this year.

Interestingly, the White House were quick to respond to Pelosi’s announcement, calling several Cabinet secretaries for a hasty press conference this afternoon. White House Strikes Back…Video: Bush Announces Trade Deal….

White House press secretary Dana Perino said Pelosi was trying to do something “unprecedented in the history of negotiating trade deals in announcing that Democrats would change the rules in the middle of the game.”

Removing the timetable sets an awful precedent “for all future administrations, both Republicans and Democrats, because countries will not be able to have faith in our word when we’re negotiating trade deals,” Perino said.

The White House said helping an important ally in South America is in the political and security interests of the United States. They also pointed out that the agreement would help U.S. companies with exports. The agreement seeks to reduce and eventually eliminate tariffs on U.S. shipments to Colombia.

Hernando Gomez, the former chief of negotiations for Colombia’s trade ministry and current president of the think tank Council on Private Competition said:

“I don’t see any reason for further delay,” Gomez said. “People must remember that traditionally U.S. policy toward Colombia has been bipartisan.”

VID FIX: 4/08 Bush Announces Colombia Trade Deal

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