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Bush, Reid trade blame over defense bill delay

President Bush and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., are engaged in a new round of finger-pointing over who is to blame for a holdup on passing the 2008 defense budget.

Bush, complaining Thursday that Congress hasn’t been doing much since Democrats took over in January, said: “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.”

If Congress cancels or postpones its monthlong summer recess, scheduled to begin Aug. 4 and last through Labor Day, Bush said he would “hang around if they want me to.”

“In a time of war, one spending bill should take precedence over all the rest,” Bush said. “We have got troops in harm’s way. They need to exercise their responsibility and get this defense bill passed.”

Reid, who yanked the 2008 defense authorization bill from the Senate floor last week in a dispute with Senate Republicans over U.S. strategy in Iraq, said he doesn’t see the need to hurry and suggested Bush needs to talk with Republicans if he wants the defense bill passed.

“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,” Reid said in a written statement. “It is time for the president and the Republicans to do more than just say the right thing. It is time they worked with us for the good of the country and our security.

“If the President and Republicans were as committed to this priority as they profess to be, they would not have placed our troops in harm’s way without a strategy for success or the equipment and support they need to do their mission,” Reid said. “Throughout this war, Democrats have had to force the President and Congressional Republicans to provide our troops adequate body armor, well-earned pay raises, and the health care they deserve when they return home. Just as importantly, we have repeatedly put forward a strategy for success in Iraq that will enhance our security.”

Reid, who is threatening to delay the August recess if a long list of legislation other than the defense bill isn’t passed, appears willing to wait until September to return to debate on Iraq policy in the belief that more Republicans might vote with Democrats for a withdrawal of combat troops after U.S. Central Command issues a report on the progress made under the current strategy.