Bush floats possibility of a yearlong continuing resolution

President Bush suggested Monday that he may not sign the omnibus appropriations bill that is expected to be sent to his desk later this week and said lawmakers should consider passing a one-year continuing resolution.

Even though Congress has bowed to his spending wishes, Bush warned lawmakers that he will be “watching very carefully as the Congress works through how to spend your money coming down the stretch before Christmas. They can’t have any gimmicks — accounting gimmicks — in there.”

{mosads}During his speech in Fredricksburg, Va., Bush acknowledged that “we’re making some pretty good progress toward coming up with a fiscally sound budget,” but emphasized that funding for the war needs to be included without an “artificial timetable for [troop] withdrawal.”

Bush added, “If the Congress can’t get the job done — in other words, those jet fumes’ll start to be moving out … pretty soon here, later on this week — if they can’t get the job done, then I’ve got a suggestion for them, and just pass a one-year continuing resolution. That’s all they’ve got to do. If they can’t get the job done, like I’m hopeful they will, then all they’ve got to do is just take what’s called a continuing resolution, get the people’s business done that way and go on home. They’ve got to make sure they fund the troops, though, on the way out of town.”