CRAWFORD - US President George W. Bush on Saturday reiterated his demand for quick congressional action on an emergency bill that contains funds for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, arguing that further delays will have "a direct impact" on US troops.
"We have our differences in Washington, DC, but our troops should not be caught in the middle," Bush said in his weekly radio address.
He added that for US "men and women in uniform, this emergency war spending bill is not a political statement, it is a source of critical funding that has a direct impact on their daily lives."
The president has repeatedly promised to veto both the House and Senate versions of the war funding bills that were approved last month and contain deadlines for troop withdrawals from the country.
The Senate version that authorizes 122 billion dollars for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan suggests that all US combat troops be pulled out from Iraq by March 31, 2008.
The 124-billion-dollar version approved by the House of Representatives mandates that the withdrawal be completed by August 31, 2008.
Congress has gone on Easter recess and is expected to resume its work only on the week of April 16.
Bush said that if Democratic-controlled Congress fails to pass a funding bill acceptable to him by mid-May, the Army will be forced to consider freezing funding for equipment depots, curtailing the training of some active duty forces and delaying the formation of new combat brigades.
"The bottom line is that Congress's failure to fund our troops will mean that some of our military families could wait longer for their loved ones to return from the front lines," the president warned. "And others could see their loved ones headed back to war sooner than they need to."
04/07/2007 14:06 GMT