Post: “Bush Blames Hill Republicans” on Homeland Security Funding
Listed in: Other Domestic Policy, NJDC News, Press Releases
Washington, DC: Today's Washington Post reports that "[President] Bush, accused by Democrats of shortchanging homeland security, is blaming the GOP-controlled Congress for underfunding programs to guard against terrorism. Mr. Bush told the National Governors Association this week that Congress 'did not respond to the $3.5 billion we asked for - they not only reduced the budget that we asked for, they earmarked a lot of the money' for other unrelated programs. 'Tactically, that was a stupid thing for the [White House] to do,' a senior House GOP aide said yesterday." The article adds that "It was not until this week that congressional Republicans saw the first evidence Bush would undercut them if it served his best political interest. In his speech to the governors, Bush said he was 'disappointed' that Congress did not provide the $3.5 billion he requested a year ago for counterterrorism programs. A top GOP House official said the Bush administration was intimately involved in negotiating the details of the $397 billion omnibus spending bill the president signed into law earlier this month. White House officials and many budget experts said the measure provides $1.3 billion specifically to local governments to combat terrorism - considerably less than the $3.5 billion that Bush said he wanted. 'If the president wanted the money, he should have asked for it. He never did,' said a senior House GOP leadership aide. 'Bush will say what he needs to say, and we understand that.'"
"It is clear that the President and his administration were very much involved in creating the omnibus spending bill - a bill that bears the President's signature, after all. But to blame Congress - under complete Republican control, no less - is not the responsible thing to do," said National Jewish Democratic Council Executive Director Ira N. Forman. "The President has told us that the war against terrorism and the threats to our homeland are serious, and we agree. It is fine if the President wants to admit that he made a mistake during the funding negotiations, but blaming other Republicans will not provide one more cent for assuring our nation's security.
"If the President genuinely regrets the funding shortfall, he should take responsibility. He can simply say that he was wrong, and agree to the $5 billion measure for emergency preparedness put forth once again this week by the Democrats - the same measure that the President and congressional Republicans have repeatedly said 'no' to," Mr. Forman added.
