Thursday August 30, 2001 |

SAN ANTONIO - President Bush urged Congress to put education and the military "at the first of the line" this fall when lawmakers decide spending priorities in a slowing economy.

In an address yesterday to the American Legion's 83rd annual convention, Bush took note of a discouragingly low 0.2 percent growth rate in the U.S. gross domestic product, the country's total output of goods and services, in the April-June quarter.

"The recovery is very slow in coming," Bush told the crowd, but he dismissed suggestions that he can't cut taxes and increase spending without tapping Social Security reserves. Tax rebates already doled out will give the economy a sufficient boost, he said.

"With the tax reduction already in place, Americans will have more of their own money to spend, to save and invest, the very things that make our economy grow," Bush said. "Tax relief is exactly the right thing, the right prescription at the right time for the American economy."

Shortly after Bush spoke, Democratic congressional leaders sent him a letter asking for a meeting about a budget for the fiscal year beginning Oct. 1 that would protect Social Security reserves.

New Congressional Budget Office figures indicate that paying for tax cuts and other Bush priorities, exacerbated by the poor economy, will force the government to spend $9 billion in Social Security money in the current fiscal year and put spending perilously close to the reserves next year.

"It is imperative that you provide specific guidance on how you intend to pay for the additional spending initiatives you are calling for. For Democrats, saving the Social Security surplus is not a symbolic goal - it is a commitment we have made to the American people, and one that we thought you shared," wrote Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle; House Democratic leader Dick Gephardt; Rep. John Spratt, ranking Democrat on the House Budget Committee; and Senate Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad.

Bush responded with a pledge to beat back any attempt to offset lost surplus dollars by increasing taxes - an idea the Democrats didn't raise. "That would tie an anchor on our economy, and I can assure you I won't allow it," he said.

The president's words echoed with emphasis in the cavernous convention hall, and drew moderate applause from the crowd that filled roughly two-thirds of it. He repeated his promise across town at a National Park Service dedication of the restored San Jose Grist Mill, located beside an 18th century Roman Catholic mission.

Bush flew to San Antonio from Waco aboard a Boeing 707 jet that was making its last mission as Air Force One. The plane, tail number 27000, spent almost 30 years in service and functioned mainly as President Reagan's aircraft. The 707 is retiring to the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, Calif., and its exhibit on presidential travel.

Yesterday's speech in San Antonio set the stage for Bush's return to Washington after nearly a month on vacation at his Texas ranch. He said he is "ready to make my case" for new military and education funding, Medicare coverage for prescription drugs, new protections for HMO patients and passage of his initiative to give religious groups government social-services grants.

He appealed for Congress to resist "old temptations" to delay education and national defense budgets until late in the budget process, leaving them vulnerable to deep cuts.

"That's the old way of doing business, and it's time to stop it," Bush said. "We must start with the things that matter most to the future and security of our country. From this time forward, let us put education and national defense at the first of the line, not at the last."

He especially appealed for defense funding, saying: "I know this nation still has enemies and we cannot expect them to be idle."