Too Few House Votes to Boost Bush Trade Power

In a setback for the Bush administration, House Republican leaders said Tuesday they did not have enough votes to give President Bush the authority to negotiate broad new trade agreements and planned to delay debate until September or later.

“The long and short of it is we don’t have enough Democratic votes,” House Republican Leader Dick Armey of Texas said in announcing the delay. “It looks now like it’ll be September.”

The Republican leadership had previously hoped to hold a House vote on so-called trade promotion authority by Friday, when Congress adjourns for a monthlong August recess.

Under the legislation, also known as “fast track,” Congress gives up its right to amend trade agreements negotiated by the executive branch and agrees instead to vote only to approve or reject the overall pacts.

Supporters say without the authority countries would refuse to negotiate with the United States because they know Congress could change any agreement that is reached.

Bush wants the legislation to forge a free trade zone covering 34 countries from Canada to Chile by 2005 and to help launch a new round of world trade talks later this year.

A disagreement over whether trade agreements should contain protections for workers has blocked renewal of fast track legislation since 1994.

Most Democrats support such provisions, but most Republicans fear they could create new obstacles to trade and scare developing countries away from trade talks.

Efforts to craft a bipartisan bill so far have been unsuccessful.