Bush invites congressional leaders to discuss bill to boost war funding

President Bush on Tuesday continued to pressure Democrats to send him a war supplemental spending bill without troop restrictions, saying funds must be transferred to meet needs caused by the bill's delay and inviting leaders from both parties to update him during a meeting next week.

"At this meeting, the leaders in Congress can report on progress on getting an emergency spending bill to my desk," Bush said. "We can discuss the way forward on a bill that is a clean bill -- a bill that funds our troops without artificial timetables for withdrawal and without handcuffing our generals on the ground."

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., swiftly rejected the invitation, complaining that the talks would not be meaningful as long as Bush continued to insist on a "clean" bill. Bush opposes supplemental bills passed by the House and Senate because they set deadlines for troop withdrawals from Iraq and include spending unrelated to the war.

"The president is inviting us down to the White House with preconditions," Reid told reporters. "He wants a clean bill. That is not negotiating."

White House Deputy Press Secretary Dana Perino called Reid's rejection a "knee-jerk" reaction and said the invitation stands. Perino asserted the meeting would not be a negotiation, and she ruled out any supplemental that sets a timetable for withdrawal and includes "micromanaging" military leaders in Iraq.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., called the withdrawal timetable a "surrender date" and predicted the Democratic language would not survive. "I don't think that will be in the final bill ... My view is the sooner we take it out the better," he said.

Perino did invite Democrats to present ideas during the meeting for improving the situation in Iraq, calling it "a meeting to discuss a way forward." She declined to say whether Bush would consider withdrawal timetables that are not mandatory and would not define what Bush means by a "clean" bill.

Bush announced that the Pentagon this month will have to transfer $1.6 billion from personnel accounts to fund operations, on top of $1.7 billion in transfers that were made last month. Reid said congressional Democrats "are going to give the president a bill, and it's up to him to fund the troops."

Reid complained that Bush never responded to a March 28 letter from him and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., offering to meet with the president for talks on the supplemental without preconditions. Reid and Pelosi made a similar offer in a statement Tuesday.

Perino characterized Bush's invitation as responsive to the request. Reid also advised the White House that the troop withdrawal language would not prevent redeployment of U.S. forces in Iraq to a neighboring country in the Middle East. He said that "with a little ingenuity" the Bush administration could "set up a force in Jordan."

House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, reiterated Republican support for Bush's veto threat and calls Monday by Republican leaders from both chambers for Pelosi to immediately bring the House back into session to complete work on a clean supplemental.

Christian Bourge and Terry Kivlan contributed to this report.