Cheney pushes corporate agenda

WASHINGTON -- Vice President Dick Cheney on Wednesday urged the nation's top manufacturers to lobby Congress in what he says will be a difficult battle to extend trade promotion authority to President Bush.

This authority, which expires on July 1, allows the president to negotiate trade agreements that must be considered by Congress on an expedited basis that bars any amendments.

"I think it's going to be a tough fight," Cheney said in a speech to the National Association of Manufacturers. "We're strongly supportive of it. It's very important for us to continue to have that authority, but we're going to need help on Capitol Hill."

Cheney said the president would veto legislation that would make it easier to form unions. Labor activists have said they believe they can get the Employee Free Choice Act through the Democratically controlled Congress. But they have acknowledged that it might not be signed into law under the current administration, and Cheney affirmed their fear.

The proposal would let workers form unions by simply signing a card or petition, impose stronger penalties on employers who violate labor laws,and allow for arbitration to settle first-contract disputes. Leading business lobbies such as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce oppose the legislation, saying workers should be allowed to vote on forming a union by secret ballot, rather than signing a card or petition. Under the bill, workers could choose to unionize through card checks or a secret election.

In his brief speech the vice president said the administration was making inroads on a dispute over China's currency policy. U.S. manufacturers contend the Chinese yuan is undervalued by as much as 40 percent, making Chinese goods cheaper in the United States and U.S. products more expensive in China.

Cheney called on the Democratic Congress to make tax cuts permanent, saying it's time for skeptics to acknowledge that tax relief has driven U.S. economic growth. He pushed the president's energy, immigration and health care initiatives, and pledged to work with Congress to reduce the use of earmarks -- a common Capitol Hill practice of slipping pet projects into spending bills.

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