Bush urges Congress to pass spending bills

PHILADELPHIA – President Bush stepped up his criticism of the Democrat-controlled Congress on Thursday, accusing members of being fiscally irresponsible and “dragging their feet” on spending bills needed to keep the government running beyond Sept. 30.

Speaking before conservative state legislators meeting at a convention here, Bush called on Congress to approve a Pentagon spending bill before its August recess and to pass the 11 other appropriations bills in short order.

“They need to exercise their responsibility and get this defense bill passed,” Bush said, adding that having troops in Iraq and Afghanistan adds urgency. “There’s time to do it. I’ll hang around if they want me to get the bill passed.”

With his once-ambitious domestic agenda in tatters, his administration facing multiple congressional investigations and his approval ratings at near-historic lows, the president has targeted the one institution that polls show is less popular with the public than he is: Congress.

Bush and congressional leaders talked of a renewed commitment to bipartisanship after the midterm elections that saw Democrats take control of the House and Senate. But it did not take long for the bipartisan accord to give way to rancor.

In recent weeks, members of Bush’s administration have been increasingly vocal in criticizing Congress for enacting little legislation while aggressively pursuing investigations of the administration.

With the window for bipartisan legislative achievement all but closed on issues including immigration, some GOP strategists say Bush can perhaps bolster conservatives by directly challenging congressional Democrats.

“The White House can say, ‘We tried it and it just didn’t work,’ ” said Vin Weber, a Republican close to the White House. “They can look at the president’s low standing in the polls and the fact that Congress’ is even lower and conclude, what is to be lost by a focused attack on Congress?”

Earlier this week, White House spokesman Tony Snow criticized Congress’ priorities after the House Judiciary Committee approved contempt citations for former White House counsel Harriet Miers and chief of staff Joshua Bolten in connection with its investigation of the U.S. attorney firings.

In remarks to the American Legislative Exchange Council, Bush accused Congress of wanting to “return to the tax-and-spend policies of the past.” And he got loud applause when he repeated his vow to veto any spending bills that would exceed the spending limits in his budget plan.

“What I’m telling you is, is that there’s a philosophical debate in Washington – and the bunch now running Congress want to return to the tax-and-spend policies of the past that did not work then and will not work in the future,” Bush said. “And that’s why I plan on using my veto to keep your taxes low.”

Bush went on to say that Democrats would be supporting “the largest tax increase in American history” if they allow tax cuts passed during his first term to expire over the next several years. He gave several examples of the tax cuts providing thousands of dollars a year to middle-class families.

White House communications director Kevin Sullivan said Bush did not intend to criticize Democrats but to prod them to enact the spending bills. “The president wanted to challenge them to get the most important of the 12 spending bills done,” he said, referring to the Pentagon appropriation.