President Bush has chided Congress for backing excessive spending which would impede growth in the ailing US economy while refusing to approve legislation that would clear the way for $8 billion in helpful construction projects.
Interrupting his four-week Texas vacation for a two-day mid-western road trip, Mr Bush tested some of the themes for the campaign for November mid-term elections. He was raising nearly $2 million for Republican gubernatorial candidates in Wisconsin and Iowa.
Speaking to an audience at the University of Wisconsin, yesterday, Mr Bush said the economy was in recession when he took office, then September 11th hit, and then corporate scandals erupted that had "been in the making for a while".
A day after an economic forum in Waco, Texas, which mostly endorsed his proposals for restoring robust economic growth, Mr Bush said the citizens from whom he heard there convinced him of the underlying strength of the economy.
"I came to the conclusion having listened to a lot of our fellow Americans that the strength of the American people and the fundamental strength of our economy far outweigh the challenges we face," he said. "I came away from the meeting confident about our economic future but not content with the progress we are making."
Mr Bush defended his refusal to release $5.1 billion approved by Congress for homeland security but which includes extraneous spending such as a building for storing the government's collection of worms and bugs.
Democrats have accused Mr Bush of undercutting the homeland security effort, but Mr Bush said it was an example of the need for fiscal restraint by Congress. "Excessive spending will serve as a drag on economic growth," he said.
The money includes funds for Israel and the Palestinians, to boost airport security and fight the spread of AIDS globally. The White House said it would be willing to allow about $1 billion of the $5.1 billion to be restored under supplemental legislation.
Mr Bush said Congress should pass a terrorism insurance bill to free up $8 billion in construction projects which would provide a helpful boost to employment. He also said Congress should enact reforms to protect workers' pensions.
He also urged Congress to approve his plan to meld all or parts of 22 federal agencies into a single Homeland Security Department, saying he would reject legislation which limits his ability to move workers around.
Senate Democrats say the plan undermines workers' union and civil service rights.
"We will reject any plan which has got a thick book of bureaucratic rules all aimed at protecting special interests," Mr Bush said bluntly.
Mr Bush later spoke at a lunch to raise $600,000 in campaign money for the Republican governor, Mr Scott McCallum, who faces an election fight after causing a stir by proposing to close a budget gap by slashing state aid to local governments.
Mr Bush moved to Des Moines, Iowa, to attend a reception raising $1.3 million for a Des Moines lawyer Mr Doug Gross, who hopes to unseat the Democratic governor, Mr Tom Vilsack.
The president visits South Dakota today to hold a homeland security event near Mount Rushmore. - (Reuters)