Bush: "Where's my money bitch?", President warns congress Options

[The Fanatic]

http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/04/03/sen...unds/index.html

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- President Bush warned Congress Tuesday that failing to send him an acceptable Iraq war funding bill soon is irresponsible and will threaten U.S. military equipment and training.

The president's stern warnings during a White House news conference targeted Democratic leaders controlling Capitol Hill who have included timetables for troop withdrawals in their funding legislation.

"If Congress fails to pass a bill that I can sign by mid-April, the Army will be forced to consider cutting back on equipment, equipment repair and quality of life initiatives for our Guard and Reserve forces," Bush said. (Watch Bush accuse Congress of debating bills that "undercut the troops" )

By mid-May, if a funding bill is not signed into law, Bush said the problems "grow even more acute," including "curtailing of training for active duty forces."

Bush reminded Congress, which is on spring recess until April 16, that it has been 57 days since he first requested war funds.

"I've made it clear for weeks that if either the House or Senate version of this bill comes to my desk, I will veto it," the president said.

"And they need to come off their vacation, get a bill to my desk."

Last week, the Senate passed a $123 billion Iraq spending measure that recommends a final withdrawal of all troops by March 31, 2008, and mandates that troops begin redeployment within four months of the bill's passage.

Despite the recess, congressional negotiators are trying to reconcile that bill with a House version calling for an August withdrawal.

House and Senate appropriations committee staffers of Democratic Reps. David Obey of Wisconsin, John Murtha of Pennsylvania and Sen. Robert Byrd of West Virginia are beginning to work through the differences, said a senior Democratic aide who's close to negotiations.

"The timeline will be one of the last things that will get decided," the aide said.

"It was really hard to get this bill passed the first time," said the aide. "If that shifts, it's going to be very difficult to pass it through the House again."

The aide expressed concern about the likelihood of agreement on "language strong enough to appeal to the left, but gives enough flexibility to appeal to the right."

Separate bill slices funding
Another bill, sponsored by Nevada's Democratic Senate Majority Leader Sen. Harry Reid and Wisconsin Sen. Russ Feingold, who's one of the Democrats' most outspoken war critics, would end most war funding after March 31, 2008.

The Reid-Feingold legislation would permit spending in only three areas: fighting al Qaeda, training Iraqis and protecting the U.S. Embassy and personnel.

During his Rose Garden remarks Bush said it would be "irresponsible" for the Democratic leadership in Congress "to delay for months on end while our troops in combat are waiting for the funds."

Delay "will mean that some of our military families could wait longer for their loved ones to return from the front lines, and others could see their loved ones headed back to the war sooner than they need to," said the president.

On Monday, Reid spokesman Jim Manley called the funding fight "an uphill battle, but it's the next step in a series of things to try and change the president's policy in Iraq." (Watch how the political chess match between Congress and the White House is being played out )

Bush ventured into sarcasm about the political battle Tuesday saying, "If Democrat leaders in Congress are bent on making a political statement, then they need to send me this unacceptable bill as quickly as possible when they come back. I'll veto it and then Congress can get down to the business of funding our troops without strings and without delay."

'Fairy tales and rose-colored glasses'
Following the president's remarks, House Democratic Caucus Chairman Rahm Emanuel of Illinois accused Bush of pursuing "an Iraq policy based on fairy tales and rose-colored glasses."

"A majority of both the House and Senate have voted to change it. The President should join us," Emanuel's statement said.

Many Democrats in Congress aren't accepting Bush's time-pressure argument. They point to a recent report by the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service, which says current U.S. war funds will not run out until mid-July.

Last year, when Republicans controlled Congress, Bush didn't sign a war funding bill into law until mid-June, opponents point out. They also say that if the president felt so urgently about the current funding, he would have sent his request to Congress earlier than February.

Bush said Congress is failing its "most basic responsibility" to "give our troops the equipment and training they need to fight our enemies and protect our nation."

He said if lawmakers "do not change course in the coming weeks, the price of that failure will be paid by our troops and their loved ones."