The White House criticized Congress on Friday for going on “vacation” before finalizing legislation to fund troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. A day after the Senate passed a bill linking financing for the Iraq conflict to a timetable for a 2008 troop withdrawal, the Bush administration said Democratic tactics were already impacting troops and readiness of U.S. military forces. “The president was surprised to learn that Congress went on vacation today,” White House deputy spokesman Dana Perino told reporters. Members of Congress were leaving Washington on Friday for the Easter holiday recess. The Senate is due to return on April 10, while the House of Representatives will return the following week. Perino said the House of Representatives failed to appoint members of Congress to work with the Senate to combine war-funding bills in each chamber, which both contain a withdrawal timetable. “I don't know how much work is going to be able to get done while they are away,” she said.
