Bush Takes Congress To Task

President Bush said Tuesday he was "perplexed" by recent congressional decisions on FISA, energy policy and the Colombia Free Trade Agreement, offering scant hope that the two sides of Pennsylvania Ave. could find common ground in Bush's final months in office.

"I believe they are letting the American people down," Bush said of congressional Democrats in a press conference Tuesday morning at the White House.

Bush said Congress is blocking his proposals to lower fuel prices and not acting quick enough on other measures to strengthen the economy.

He dismissed claims from Democrats that he should stop adding oil to the Strategic Petroleum Reserve and said Congress was blocking efforts to increase oil refining capacity here at home.

When asked if he could support any additional spending on an upcoming war supplemental, Bush reiterated his promise to veto any bill that exceeds the amount the White House requested to fund the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Congressional Democrats pounced on Bush's veto threat.

"It shows you how out of touch he is," said Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.). "People realize our energy and our resources are going to Iraq. ... There ought to be something for people back home."

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), said Bush's attempt to blame Congress on energy costs was bogus.

"For his first six years in office, the president and the Republican majorities in Congress did virtually nothing to address gasoline prices and to make America more energy independent," Hoyer said.

On the contentious issue of electronic surveillance legislation, Bush said that the Democrats failure to send him an updated FISA bill show shows "either a lack of leadership or a lack of understanding on the issue."

Work continues on the FISA update as Congress wrestles with the issue of retroactive immunity for telecom companies that aided the government.

On the Colombia Free Trade Agreement, Bush accused Democrats of "playing politics" by not bringing the contentious agreement to the House floor for a vote.
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