“A failure to do so would mean that 25 million Americans would be subject to the AMT - more than six times the number that faced the tax last year,” Bush said in his weekly radio address. “If you are one of those 25 million, you would have to send an average of $2,000 more to the IRS next year.”

The president added that Congress’s failure to act could already have expensive consequences, since 2007 tax forms that were sent to the government printer Friday will likely have to be reprinted and corrected.

While the House passed an AMT patch, Bush said he would veto the legislation in its current form because it includes a tax increase.

“Congress should not use legislation that millions of Americans are counting on to protect them from higher taxes in one area as an excuse to raise taxes in other areas,” Bush said.

The president also criticized Democrats for seeking to pass a war funding bill with strings attached.

“We do not need members of Congress telling our commanders what to do,” Bush said. “We need Congress listening to our military commanders and giving them what they need to win the war against extremists and radicals.”

However, in their weekly radio address, Democrats offered a different take.

Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pa.) argued that passing Bush’s $200 billion request to “continue the war indefinitely” without accountability would be irresponsible.

“This request is unacceptable, and we are negotiating a way forward that will responsibly deploy our troops out of Iraq so that we can transition the mission to training Iraqis, protecting our forces and fighting terrorists,” Casey said.