Colombia Debate: Still Going

House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) today wrote to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) today to ask just what does she want from Republicans in order to set a vote on the Colombia free trade agreement.

While she effectively blocked a vote on the deal last week, Boehner said he was “encouraged” by statements afterwards saying she remained open to passing the pact.

Specifically, Pelosi said at an April 9 press conference that President Bush would have to accept some additional economic measures before Democrats would consider the merits of the trade deal.

Boehner called her out for being too ambiguous about what exactly she wants to see become law.

“The list of issues on which you indicated that you intend to use the “leverage” from blocking the Colombia Free Trade Agreement is both broad and vague, causing some to question whether you are simply using these demands as a pretext for blocking the trade agreement altogether,” he said in the letter.

“These questions are neither healthy for the institution of the House, nor for our nation’s ability to negotiate future treaties with our international allies.”

He asked the speaker to respond to him with a specific list of issues she wants action on in exchange for a Colombia vote, and to get that list to him by April 22, so to “begin our discussion as soon as possible.”

Full text of letter after the jump.
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