Congress Backs Bush On Mideast

Congressional leaders met over breakfast with President Bush on Thursday and declared their support of the White House mission in the Middle East, though Democrats said they need to be consulted more often about the crisis.

"Americans support Israel, realize Israel is involved in a fight against terrorism and we will always be there for Israel, but we also have to be a force for peace," House Minority Leader Richard Gephardt, D-Mo., said after the session. "To do that, we've got to be together with the administration ... to try to get this done and that takes continuous interchange of information between both branches of government."

Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, however, is urging fellow senators to hold off on proposed resolutions to support Israel, condemn the PLO or anything else because things are so sensitive right now and it could interfere with Secretary of State Colin Powell's trip to to the region, CBS News Correspondent Bob Fuss reports.

Daschle, D-S.D., said of Powell's mission: "Obviously, we wish Secretary Powell well," and the country stands behind him. Daschle dismissed reports that the White House was easing its support of Israel. "I don't think there has been any diminution of support," he said.

Daschle said he was pleased that Mr. Bush promised more meetings with congressional leaders. The last leadership meeting, which normally includes House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., and Senate Minority Leader Trent Lott, R-Miss., was six weeks ago.

The leaders also discussed their legislative agenda with the president. Almost every day recently, Mr. Bush has picked a different bill pending in the Senate to accuse senators of dragging their feet. Thursday, he was calling on the Senate to pass legislation boosting religious charities, and was highlighting a new tax break that would help up to 84 million tax filers if they give to charity.

The meeting came one day after Daschle complained to reporters that White House consultation over the Mideast has not been "as consistent or regular as I think it should be." White House spokesman Ari Fleischer dismissed the comments as "bellyaching and whining."

National security adviser Condoleezza Rice met Wednesday with House Republican leaders, and called Daschle the day before. After meeting with Mr. Bush, Gephardt said there should be more sessions with Rice or other administration officials.

After Sept. 11, leaders of the House and Senate met weekly with the president for breakfast at the White House. More recently, that became every two weeks — or longer.

Fleischer said that even with the lag, this White House briefs Congress far more than past administrations have.

Mr. Bush met with 16 members of the House and Senate, all Republicans, on Wednesday. Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., met later with Bush's congressional liaison to discuss health care and education legislation.

To Daschle, the lack of communication is best illustrated by Homeland Security Director Tom Ridge's refusal to testify before Congress.

Ridge offered to brief lawmakers informally, but the Senate Appropriations Committee chairman, Sen. Robert Byrd, D-W.Va., a staunch defender of congressional power, insisted that Ridge provide formal testimony on Mr. Bush's proposed $38 billion budget for domestic security programs.

In the end, Byrd held his hearing Wednesday without Ridge.

Ridge met behind closed doors Wednesday with some members of the Republican-controlled House Appropriations Committee, which, he said, was his 36th or 37th closed-door session with lawmakers.

He has offered to give legislators public briefings but refused to give formal public testimony because he is a presidential adviser, not a Cabinet member confirmed by the Senate.

Later Thursday, Mr. Bush was urging the Senate to pass legislation by Memorial Day on charitable giving. The bill — a scaled-back version of what the president originally proposed and what the House has approved — would give a new tax break to the 70 percent of tax filers who claim the standard deduction.

Individuals could deduct up to $400 a year in charitable donations; $800 for couples.

The most contested provision in the House bill would have opened new government programs to churches and other religious groups. It would have allowed the groups to maintain exemptions from civil rights laws and make hiring and firing decisions based on religion, even for projects spending government money.

The Senate bill eliminates this provision, known as charitable choice.