Politics

Bush Does Capitol Hill

July 11, 2001 / 3:38 PM EDT / AP

His legislative agenda under attack, President Bush urged his Republican allies in Congress to work with him to open government programs to religious groups and send him a patients' rights bill he can sign. He also emphasized Wednesday that he will veto spending bills that are excessive.

"He talked about the discipline we need to exercise in this process," said House Majority Leader Dick Armey, R-Texas, after Mr. Bush's 45-minute meeting with House Republicans. The president said clearly that he would "use his veto pen against excessive spending that would jeopardize priorities," Armey said.

GOP leaders said Mr. Bush spoke with passion on three issues that the House is expected to take up before it leaves for the August recess: patients' rights, making it easier for religious groups to receive federal money and granting the president more authority to negotiate international trade agreements.

All three face obstacles. The Senate has passed a patients' rights bill that the White House and many Republicans say would lead to a flood of lawsuits against insurance companies and health care groups. Mr. Bush's position is opposed by the American Medical Association, forcing him on the defensive Wednesday.

Both the religious funding measure and the trade initiative face major opposition.

"We're 90 percent there. I'm here to ask you to continue to work so I can be given a bill that I can sign," Mr. Bush told lawmakers, according to press secretary Ari Fleischer. He said Mr. Bush received a standing ovation that lasted nearly a minute.

The president addressed the House Republican Conference before meeting with doctors and at least one patient at the White House. He also was meeting separately with House Speaker Dennis Hastert and Senate Minority Leader Trent Lott to discuss legislative strategy.

Hastert said Mr. Bush urged Congress to send him a patients' rights bill where people can have access to good health care "without necessarily going to a lawyer's office or a court before they can get it."

"We left very much pumped about the next few weeks," said Rep. Tom DeLay of Texas, the House's third-ranked Republican. He said the group spoke of the 10-year $1.35 trillion tax cut signed into law and Mr. Bush "felt very strongly that the American people deserve tax relief and we should use tax relief as a disciplinary tool to stop big-spending Democrats from their spending habits."

Already, spending bills for fiscal year 2002, which starts Oct. 1, are exceeding the ceilings set by the White House as lawmakers from both parties vie for money for their priority programs.

Mr. Bush's bid to open government programs to religious groups has run into opposition from liberals and conservatives. The White House fumbled attempts to build broader support and scaled back the program.

The president's case was complicated Tuesday with release of an internal report by the Salvation Army that suggested the administration had cut a deal with th nation's largest charity to add its lobbying strength to Mr. Bush's battle.

The report said the administration would back a regulation to allow charities like the Salvation Army to receive federal payments for social services even if the groups won't hire gays and lesbians.

Amid heavy criticism, the White House abruptly ended its review of the proposed regulation and decided not to back it.

On patients' rights, Mr. Bush and Democrats differ mainly on the Republicans' demand that the legal liability of HMOs be limited. He wants House Republicans to pass a bill to his liking and force a compromise on Senate Democrats, who already approved a measure that Mr. Bush has threatened to veto.

Republican leaders fear Mr. Bush and his party would be punished by voters if he vetoes the popular measure.

Taking on the American Medical Association, which opposes a House proposal backed by Mr. Bush, the president surrounded himself with doctors and patients Wednesday afternoon to tout a patients' rights bill sponsored by Rep. Ernest Fletcher, R-Ky.

"I know there's talk that the bill that came out of the Senate is the only one doctors are for," Mr. Bush said. "There are plenty of doctors who feel the Fletcher bill is the best alternative." The AMA backs the Senate bill, saying it protects patient access to specialty care.

The House and Senate have passed separate versions of Mr. Bush's plan to use federal aid as leverage with failing schools and measure school performance by annual math and reading tests of students. The differences must be reconciled before a bill is sent to the president.