DeLay predicts CAFTA will pass
July 27, 2005
US House of Representatives Majority Leader Tom DeLay, predicted on Tuesday that the US-Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) will pass on Tuesday night despite what he called a “tough vote”.
House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi said that she believed that over 90 percent of House Democrats would vote against the bill as being bad for workers, as only 7 of the 200 Democratic House members have come out in public support of the legislation.
The comments from both legislators came after President George W. Bush met with House Republicans on Tuesday morning to urge them to support CAFTA, which would lower trade restrictions between the United States and several Central American nations, including Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic.
Mr. Bush has had a difficult time persuading legislators to vote for the trade agreement because besides the opposition of most Democrats who say that the agreement does not contain enough protections for workers in regions where workers have traditionally not had many rights, Republicans from states with significant textile and sugar industries also oppose the agreement.
Besides Mr. Bush, Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice also spent Tuesday morning lobbying legislators for votes for the agreement.