Bush faults Congress for inaction on energy, housing bills

[streicher187]

By JENNIFER LOVEN, Associated Press Writer
Tue Apr 29, 8:23 PM ET



WASHINGTON - President Bush, hoping to inoculate his party and his presidential legacy from election-year anger over the economy, heaped criticism on the Democratic-led Congress on Tuesday for "letting the American people down."


He said he'd consider a summer suspension of federal gasoline taxes. But he offered no new ideas for a range of economic worries now facing the country, from record gas prices and soaring food costs to rising inflation, layoffs and home foreclosures, and a credit crunch that even has sparked fears of a college student loan squeeze.

He rejected a new economic stimulus package, saying the tax rebate checks that began going out this week from a $168 billion economic aid plan adopted in February must first be given time to work. He also rejected bipartisan suggestions that the government stop filling the nation's Strategic Petroleum Reserve while oil costs so much, saying it involves such a tiny amount of supply that doing so wouldn't push prices down.

Instead, the president tried to shift the focus to Congress, saying he long ago sent lawmakers proposals to deal with many of the nation's economic problems, only to see them sit or be replaced with approaches that he deems unacceptable.

"Many Americans are understandably anxious about issues affecting their pocketbook," Bush said in a White House news conference, held outdoors in an unseasonably cold and windy Rose Garden. "They're looking to their elected leaders in Congress for action. Unfortunately, on many of these issues, all they're getting is delay."

Capitol Hill's Democratic leaders said Bush was to blame for proposing policies that would worsen the problem, not help, and that it was their duty to reject them.

"His call this morning for Congress to act is disingenuous at best," Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said of Bush. "Whether on energy policy, the housing crisis or our many other economic woes, this administration and its Republican allies in Congress offer nothing but the same failed ideas that got us into this mess in the first place."

Bush's news conference, only his second expanded question-and-answer session with reporters this year, appeared to be a pre-emptive measure of sorts, as it came a day before the release of statistics on the nation's gross domestic product for January through March. The common definition of a recession is two consecutive quarters of declining GDP and many expect Wednesday's report to provide the first official confirmation of a slide.

With bad news piling on bad news, the president's march to the bully pulpit wasn't just about winning policy debates with lawmakers.

The economy is shaping up to be the defining issue when voters go to the polls in November. Bush doesn't want his GOP to be the punching bag that winds up on the losing end. In an Associated Press-Ipsos poll this month, just 27 percent of the people questioned about Bush's handling of the economy said they approved — his worst showing ever in the survey.

The president on Tuesday bent over backward to demonstrate he understands how rough things are.

He continued to resist fully embracing the term "recession" to describe the current financial picture, but came closer than he has before. He said the country is in "difficult" straits five times, that it's "tough" three times and even called the situation "sour." "Recession, slowdown — whatever you want to call it," he said.

"You know, the words on how to define the economy don't reflect the anxiety the American people feel. You know, the average person doesn't really care what we call it," Bush said.

But hardly missing a chance in his 49-minute appearance to take a shot at Democrats, he seized on the terminology discussion for that purpose.

"These are difficult times. And the American people know it and they want to know whether or not Congress knows it," Bush said. "I believe that they're letting the American people down, is what I believe."

The high cost of energy was a major topic. An AP-Yahoo News poll this month showed people naming gasoline prices as the nation's second-highest problem, behind the economy generally.

With the average price of a gallon of gas up to $3.60 nationwide, a proposal by Republican presidential candidate John McCain to suspend federal fuel taxes for the summer driving season has gained currency. Democratic White House hopeful Hillary Rodham Clinton has endorsed the idea, though Democratic rival Barack Obama has not. The tax is 18.4 cents on a gallon of gasoline and 24.4 cents on diesel fuel.

"We'll take a look," Bush said.

But he pivoted quickly to longer-term fixes that he favors, such as opening a coastal strip of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska to oil exploration and production, and making it easier to build new oil refineries and nuclear power plants. All are longtime priorities of his that have been stymied in Congress.

"There is no magic wand to wave right now," Bush said. "It took us a while to get to this fix."

Bush also blasted Congress for failing to act on "a single one of" his ideas for addressing the housing crisis, in which rising numbers of people can't afford their mortgages or owe more on their homes than they're worth. The president has proposed a broad modernization of the Federal Housing Administration to allow some additional homeowners to refinance from subprime loans into cheaper government-backed, fixed-rate mortgages and other measures.

On other subjects, Bush:

_Spoke for the first time about U.S. intelligence alleging that North Korea was helping Syria build a nuclear reactor. Israel destroyed the clandestine, unfinished facility in September. Bush said his administration didn't make its intelligence public until last week mostly because "we were concerned that an early disclosure would increase the risk of a confrontation in the Middle East or retaliation in the Middle East," a reference to fears that Syria would strike back at Israel.

_Said President Robert Mugabe's government in Zimbabwe is waging a campaign of violence and intimidation following March 29 elections that is "simply unacceptable." Bush said neighboring African countries, such as South Africa, must "step up and lead" to resolve the crisis.

_Defended the U.S. and NATO missions in Afghanistan for "making progress," despite a weekend attempted assassination of Afghan President Hamid Karzai that underscored problems. "I'm under no illusions that this isn't tough," Bush said.

[streicher187]

WOW he is worried about his legacy.. He had spin doctors on the news this morning saying how he was going to leave Iraq in good shape for the next person to step into office and how he was fixing the economy but it would not be seen untill next year.. So if Clinton/Obama are elected and economy starts to improve he's already taking credit..

By most americans he's probably going to go down as the worst president in their lifetime so I think it's a little to late to worry about your legacy now...

[JammingJames23]

I am not a Bush fan, but most Americans exhibit an atrocious ignorance of just how much impact Congress has. Congress is the first branch mentioned in the constitution and has the most power. The President is always the easiest target, but seriously, he is little more than a figurehead.

[streicher187]

Originally Posted by JammingJames23

I am not a Bush fan, but most Americans exhibit an atrocious ignorance of just how much impact Congress has. Congress is the first branch mentioned in the constitution and has the most power. The President is always the easiest target, but seriously, he is little more than a figurehead.

congress as it is has no power, for 5 years they were Bush puppets and rammed everything he wanted through, now that they are divided they can not pass anything and they have tried, Bush vetoes all bills that were not thought of by him and if he passes them adds on writing statements to make them his (The anti torture bill he added unless approved by president) That is how it is supposed to be with congress but it isn't... So it's not ignorance it the abuse of power by the current elected officials who are only worried about their legacy not what's good for American people(on both sides of the isle)..

As far as the constitution this president and vice president have used it for nothing more than toilet paper since they got into office so why should this be any different..

[BravesFan4Life]

Actually Congress does not have the most power...hence the design of our political system having three branches with equal power(well supposedly). Bush had a lot of sway and that can cause the other two branches to be temporarily zapped of their power but in theory they are all equal. By no means is Bush a figurehead. The Queen of England is a figurehead...she literally has no power anymore, Bush has so much power in his infinitely small mind.

[streicher187]

Congress has so much power Bush justs uses a signing statemant and their bills are crap..

March 9: Justice Department officials must give reports to Congress by certain dates on how the FBI is using the USA Patriot Act to search homes and secretly seize papers.

Bush's signing statement: The president can order Justice Department officials to withhold any information from Congress if he decides it could impair national security or executive branch operations.

Dec. 30, 2005: US interrogators cannot torture prisoners or otherwise subject them to cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment.

Bush's signing statement: The president, as commander in chief, can waive the torture ban if he decides that harsh interrogation techniques will assist in preventing terrorist attacks.

Dec. 30: When requested, scientific information ''prepared by government researchers and scientists shall be transmitted [to Congress] uncensored and without delay."

Bush's signing statement: The president can tell researchers to withhold any information from Congress if he decides its disclosure could impair foreign relations, national security, or the workings of the executive branch.

Aug. 8: The Department of Energy, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and its contractors may not fire or otherwise punish an employee whistle-blower who tells Congress about possible wrongdoing.

Bush's signing statement: The president or his appointees will determine whether employees of the Department of Energy and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission can give information to Congress.

Dec. 23, 2004: Forbids US troops in Colombia from participating in any combat against rebels, except in cases of self-defense. Caps the number of US troops allowed in Colombia at 800.

Bush's signing statement: Only the president, as commander in chief, can place restrictions on the use of US armed forces, so the executive branch will construe the law ''as advisory in nature."

Dec. 17: The new national intelligence director shall recruit and train women and minorities to be spies, analysts, and translators in order to ensure diversity in the intelligence community.

Bush's signing statement: The executive branch shall construe the law in a manner consistent with a constitutional clause guaranteeing ''equal protection" for all. (In 2003, the Bush administration argued against race-conscious affirmative-action programs in a Supreme Court case. The court rejected Bush's view.)

Oct. 29: Defense Department personnel are prohibited from interfering with the ability of military lawyers to give independent legal advice to their commanders.

Bush's signing statement: All military attorneys are bound to follow legal conclusions reached by the administration's lawyers in the Justice Department and the Pentagon when giving advice to their commanders.

Aug. 5: The military cannot add to its files any illegally gathered intelligence, including information obtained about Americans in violation of the Fourth Amendment's protection against unreasonable searches.

Bush's signing statement: Only the president, as commander in chief, can tell the military whether or not it can use any specific piece of intelligence.

Nov. 6, 2003: US officials in Iraq cannot prevent an inspector general for the Coalition Provisional Authority from carrying out any investigation. The inspector general must tell Congress if officials refuse to cooperate with his inquiries.

Bush's signing statement: The inspector general ''shall refrain" from investigating anything involving sensitive plans, intelligence, national security, or anything already being investigated by the Pentagon. The inspector cannot tell Congress anything if the president decides that disclosing the information would impair foreign relations, national security, or executive branch operations.

Nov. 5, 2002: Creates an Institute of Education Sciences whose director may conduct and publish research ''without the approval of the secretary [of education] or any other office of the department."

Bush's signing statement: The president has the power to control the actions of all executive branch officials, so ''the director of the Institute of Education Sciences shall [be] subject to the supervision and direction of the secretary of education."

[kobe080]

It is no hidden truth that the president has a lot of power...especially when the house and the senate is divided between two parties...
there has to be 2/3 in the house and the senate to override president veto and therefore, if bills passed by the legislature get vetoed by the president, they cannot do anything about it.
I think Bush wants to stay powerful during his lameduck times and that's why we see this stupid things happening.
I really think this is the time for elites to start taking care of intra-national issues rather than thinking of other ways to spend money outside the country

[streicher187]

Originally Posted by kobe080

It is no hidden truth that the president has a lot of power...especially when the house and the senate is divided between two parties...
there has to be 2/3 in the house and the senate to override president veto and therefore, if bills passed by the legislature get vetoed by the president, they cannot do anything about it.
I think Bush wants to stay powerful during his lameduck times and that's why we see this stupid things happening.
I really think this is the time for elites to start taking care of intra-national issues rather than thinking of other ways to spend money outside the country

like the 700 million they want to use to feed starving people in Africa when with the high prices of Food, Gas, Meds and everything there are more people in America going without food than ever before why not spend money to feed our people...

[JammingJames23]

Okay, I will fault the educational system then for teaching me inaccurate data.

[streicher187]

Originally Posted by JammingJames23

Okay, I will fault the educational system then for teaching me inaccurate data.

That's how it used to be but as we know the constitution doesn' mean crap anymore.. You can get away with murder and stop people from testifying against you because you are the president.. There is no oversight and with a 50/50 split in senate there is no way anything can get passed.. The rep. use a rule so you need 60 votes for something to pass (which they cried about when they were in power and it was used)..

The president has all the power these days, they can change bills that were passed by congress and senate without their permission or approval..