President Bush has urged the U.S. Congress to move forward on key pieces of legislation, including the federal budget, children's health care measures, and an electronic surveillance bill.
At a news conference in Washington Wednesday, Mr. Bush said the Democratic Party-controlled Congress has not sent him any appropriations bills for the current fiscal year.
The president urged Congress to send a bipartisan bill that strengthens the Federal Intelligence Surveillance Act, which allows for wide use of eavesdropping of potential terrorist suspects without a court warrant.
The House of Representatives is expected to vote Wednesday on a new electronic surveillance bill that the Bush administration opposes. The bill expands court oversight of government surveillance.
Mr. Bush also predicted Wednesday the House will not be able to override his recent veto of a bill that expands a popular government-run health insurance program for children.
Mr. Bush vetoed a bill that expands the State Children's Health Insurance Program by $35 billion. The expansion would provide health coverage for about 10 million children in low-income families not able to afford private insurance but earning too much to qualify for federal programs.
President Bush also spoke Wednesday of growing Russian-Iran ties.
He said Russian President Vladimir Putin recognizes it is not in the world's interests for Iran to have the capacity to make a nuclear weapon.
And the U.S. leader said he is looking forward to hearing President Putin's read-out from his meetings in Tehran with Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
Some information for this report was provided by AP.
