White House again warns Congress to hold the line on spending

The White House today signaled that, despite worsening economic news and a huge spike in unemployment last month, President Bush remains firmly committed to his own stimulus package and to holding the line at spending limits agreed to with Congress.

The President last month agreed with Democratic and GOP appropriations panel leaders to provide $686 billion in funding for fiscal 2002, and he has sanctioned some $40 billion in supplemental spending for this year and a $15 billion bailout for the airlines.

"The President believes that, if [Congress goes] $1 above, the sky is going to be the limit and it's going to be another congressional bidding war," White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer said today.

Fleischer said only $2 billion to $3 billion of the $40 billion supplemental outlay has been spent, arguing that there remains "plenty of money in the pipeline" for existing needs. "There is sufficient funding, particularly this fall, to cover all the needs," he said.

But Fleischer declined to threaten that Bush would veto appropriations bills that might lead to exceeding the $686 billion figure.

Although Bush's package of unemployment and health care benefits for displaced workers was unveiled before Friday's announcement that unemployment had jumped half a percent, the President continues to believe his proposal is adequate, Fleischer said.

Democrats have charged that Bush is providing inadequate funding for unemployed workers to maintain health insurance and that Bush would not sufficiently extend unemployment benefits. But Fleischer argued that, by adding another 13 weeks to the existing six months of unemployment coverage, as Bush proposes, workers displaced now would receive benefits into next June.

Nevertheless, "in the event that there are additional economic difficulties at that time next year," Fleischer said, Bush would consider other proposals.