President Bush on Thursday sought to shame Democratic lawmakers into passing funds for U.S. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan before the congressional recess in August.
“We got troops in harm’s way,” Bush told an audience in Philadelphia. “At the very least, members of Congress ought to finish the spending bill for the Department of Defense before they go on recess, so I can sign it into law.”
He added: “There’s time to do it. I’ll hang around if they want me to.”
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid countered that Bush never should “have placed our troops in harm’s way” in the first place.
“The president’s call today to pressure Congress to quickly complete a defense spending bill that does not take effect until October is simply the latest example of the president shamelessly hiding behind our brave troops in an effort to distract attention from his failed national security record and failed conduct of this war,” the Nevada Democrat said.
Congress plans to go on vacation next month without passing any of the 12 major appropriations bills, including the defense spending bill. The White House is worried that the bills will be merged into an unwieldy omnibus spending measure laden with pork.
“I believe these bills need to be passed one at a time because the alternative is to pass a massive spending bill that no one can read, and into which anyone can hide wasteful spending,” Bush said. “They need to get the work done before the fiscal year ends on September the 30th.”
Bush plans to veto a Democratic resolution calling for $205 billion in additional domestic spending over the next five years. To pay for the spending, some Democrats want to increase taxes.
“In order to pay for the promises they have made, their budget framework includes the largest tax increase — not the second largest or close to the largest — the largest tax increase in American history,” Bush said. “The average American family of four, making $60,000, would see their bill go up by $1,800.”
