( Bloomberg ) - President George W. Bush would veto a Democratic proposal to tie war funding to billions of dollars of additional domestic spending, White House budget director Jim Nussle said.
Democrats are drafting a spending bill that would provide as much as $70 billion in new war spending linked to about $11 billion more in domestic spending than Bush requested in his budget. The war funds wouldn't be tied to Iraq troop withdrawals as they have been in prior measures.
``Instead of trying to leverage troop-funding for more pork-barrel spending, Congress ought to pass responsible appropriations bills,'' Nussle said in a statement today. If Congress approved the proposed spending deal, ``the president would veto it,'' Nussle said.
Democrats, who have a majority in both houses of Congress, are in a standoff with Bush over $190 billion in war funding requested by the administration. A $50 billion spending bill linked to troop withdrawals was blocked by Senate Republicans this month, and Democrats had said they won't approve any more money this year.
Since approval of the war spending bill failed, military officials have warned of base closures and layoffs of civilian employees if Congress doesn't approve more money, and some Democrats have expressed a growing willingness to compromise.