Battle Of The Budget
President Clinton vetoed a $12.6 billion foreign aid bill Monday and said he will refuse to sign other spending bills passed by the Republican-led Congress despite a budget deadline looming this week.
"There are certain bottom lines for the American people that I have that I'm going to fight for," Mr. Clinton told reporters.
The White House is adopting a tough stance on spending, accusing congressional Republicans of accounting gimmickry. A temporary budget bill that has kept the government running since the start of the fiscal year on Oct. 1 will expire on Thursday.
And since Congress isn't even close to finishing the bills needed to fund the government, another temporary measure will be needed to prevent a government shutdown.
Mr. Clinton met earlier with Cabinet officers to talk budget strategy. He also plans to invite congressional leaders to the White House for a meeting this week "to figure out a way to get out of the box created by appropriators to date," press secretary Joe Lockhart said.
"We have to put politics aside and seek common ground," Mr. Clinton said.
However, CBS News Correspondent Bob Fuss reports the GOP leadership is cool on the idea of a budget summit.
House Speaker Dennis Hastert's press secretary said the president only wants a summit so he can spend more money. A spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott said his boss is willing to "listen" if the president wants to meet but sees no reason for a formal budget summit.
The foreign aid bill passed over loud opposition from Democrats and the White House, who claim it shortchanges important American foreign policy interests such as furthering the Mideast peace deal known as Wye River.
Mr. Clinton's foreign aid veto — the 28th of his presidency — will likely stand. The bill only narrowly cleared the House with a vote of 214-211, and the Senate with a vote of 51-49. A two-thirds vote in both houses is needed to override a presidential veto.
As passed by Congress, the aid bill provides two billion dollars less than the president sought and none of the $500 million down payment he had sought to help Israel and the Palestinians carry out the peace accord negotiated last year at Wye River, Md. In all, the president has pledged $1.8 billion in U.S. support for the Mideast peace effort.
The bill also provides significantly less money than Mr. Clinton requested for international debt relief, the Peace Corps and for efforts to reduce the nuclear threat from North Korea and other countries.
Lockhart said a veto of the defense spending bill may be on the way. "That is under consideration," he said.
"The bill is beyond what the president requested, and there are also a number of gimmicks in it. They make operations and maintenance an emergency," Lockhart said.