Boehner to Pelosi: ‘Put up or shut up’ on trade deal

House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) said Thursday that Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) should “either put up or shut up” on the stalled Colombia trade deal.

The strong words, even by House standards, show that the battle over the trade agreement is intensifying.

{mosads}“It’s beyond me as to why this bill has not been brought to the floor and we’re going to continue to press her,” Boehner told reporters. “I think the pact will create more American jobs and it’s time for the Speaker to either put up or shut up on when we’re going to have a vote and I think America’s workers, farmers and businesses have too much at stake to be playing political blackmail with the White House and Republicans on Capitol Hill.”

Pelosi’s office indicated that the Speaker remains willing to work with Republicans.

“What is at stake here is the economic security of American workers and Congress’s responsibility to immediately provide relief to millions of families struggling to make ends meet,” said Pelosi spokesman Nadeam Elshami. “The Speaker has repeatedly said she is willing to work with the president and Republicans to achieve those goals.”

Pelosi’s decision thwarted the trade agreement through a procedural maneuver two weeks ago after President Bush sent it to the House.

Democrats argue that GOP lawmakers and the White House are misrepresenting the facts on Colombia, noting that he broke years of precedent by sending a trade deal that did not have the support of congressional leaders.

On Wednesday, Pelosi sent a letter to Boehner in response to his request for a list of requirements that must be met before the measure will be brought back to the House floor for a vote.

“As I said to the president, until we pass a legislative package for jobs and economic growth here at home, it will be extremely difficult to approve any trade legislation,” she wrote.

Boehner likened her demands to “political blackmail.”

“[Her letter] was a laundry list of political blackmail that she wants the president to consider before she’ll consider moving the Colombia free trade agreement that will help American workers and will help American businesses,” Boehner said.

On Thursday afternoon, Republican leaders in the House and Senate joined Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez to criticize Pelosi’s move and to unveil a “tariff ticker” that will appear on the Commerce Department’s website. The ticker will calculate how much the trade inaction is costing exporters since the agreement was signed 520 days ago. As of publication time, the number was over $980 million.

“Our exporters are at a disadvantage,” Gutierrez said. “Our farmers, our workers and our small businesses are at a disadvantage.”