Lawmakers Slam White House 'Attitude Problem'

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Lawmakers from both parties blistered the Bush administration on Thursday for "a severe attitude problem" in its dealings with Congress, citing a public campaign against their pet projects and Homeland Security chief Tom Ridge's refusal to testify on Capitol Hill.

Appearing before a House of Representatives Appropriations subcommittee, White House Budget Director Mitch Daniels apologized for any "inadvertent" impression created that the White House was slighting Congress' constitutional role, but defended the effort to restrict the so-called earmarking of budget funds for programs in individual lawmakers' districts.

"You and several others in the administration, in my view, have a severe attitude problem," said Wisconsin Rep. David Obey, the top Democrat on the Appropriations Committee, which wields considerable power through its control of the federal government's purse strings.