Bush urges action on education bill

KENNEBUNKPORT, Maine (Reuters) -- U.S. President George W. Bush on Saturday ratcheted up the pressure on Congress to pass GOP education legislation before the lawmakers' August recess, saying, "We need to act quickly."

Congressional negotiators hope to begin work as early as next week on a final education bill that would test students each year and hold schools accountable for the results.

Bush, who made education a top priority during the 2000 presidential campaign, urged lawmakers to reconcile the differences between the education bills approved by the Republican-controlled House in May and the Democratic-led Senate in June.

"We need to act quickly ... We have come so far. We're almost there, and we must finish the job," Bush said in his weekly radio address.

Bush was in Kennebunkport, Maine, for the weekend at his family's vacation compound to celebrate his 55th birthday Friday.

Congressional aides said they expected House and Senate leaders to begin the reconciliation process by appointing negotiators next week to a so-called conference committee with the goal of hammering out a compromise by August.

The biggest sticking point may be over education funding, since the House bill authorizes $23 billion in fiscal 2002, compared with the Senate's estimated $31.6 billion.

As proposed by Bush, both the House and the Senate bills would require annual student testing in reading and mathematics, and require schools, school districts and states to demonstrate progress in wiping out achievement gaps. Schools that fail to make progress for four consecutive years could face sanctions.

"The president thinks it would be a real step backward for education if Congress failed to take action by sending him a bill prior to August recess," said White House spokesman Ari Fleischer.

In his early months in office, Bush has enjoyed mixed results. His signature issue, a $1.35-trillion, 10-year tax cut, was passed, but his policies on the energy and the environment have helped pull down his job approval ratings to slightly above 50 percent.

Bush also to push for GOP patients' rights bill

Fleischer said Bush would use the coming week to push not just for education reform but also patients' rights legislation, which Democrats have made their first priority after taking control of the Senate last month.

Bush will have a series of events, including a visit to a hospital in the Washington, D.C., area, "reminding the Congress that this is an issue that can be signed into law if Congress is willing to make the right choices by putting progress before politics," Fleischer said.

The problem for Bush is he does not like the legislation favored by Democrats and which is popular among Americans. It would give Americans sweeping new health care rights and the power to sue health maintenance organizations (HMOs) and insurers if treatment is denied.

Bush fears it would lead to higher health care costs and increase the number of uninsured and provide a windfall to trial lawyers. He backs a Republican bill giving patients a limited right to sue in state court.

Bush will also push for his energy plan, which critics say is tilted too far toward production of energy and does not include enough conservation measures, and his initiative to let faith-based organizations receive federal funding for performing social services.