Clinton renewed his threat to veto a bill advancing in the House that he said would cut $3.3 billion from his plans for education and job training.

"They have proposed a narrow and much more partisan plan that, in my view, is not a step into the future, but a step backward," Clinton said in a speech to summer job workers at Prince Georges Community Hospital in nearby Cheverly, Maryland.

Clinton has issued direct threats to veto 7 of 13 appropriations bills needed to fund the federal government when the 1998 budget year ends on September 30.

The seven bills under a veto warning include billions of dollars in funding for the departments of defence, Justice, commerce, labour, health and human services, veterans administration and housing and urban development, as well as foreign operations andmoney for the district of Columbia.

The threats have prompted the Republican leadership, senate majority leader Trent Lott of Mississippi and House Speaker Newt Gingrich of Georgia, to accuse Clinton of pursuing a strategy aimed at a shutdown of the US government.

"We therefore urge you to repudiate the `shutdown strategy' that others may advance in your name," Lott and Gingrich said in a letter to Clinton faxed to reporters Friday.

White House spokesman Barry Toiv said Clinton was "absolutely not" pursuing such a strategy and urged Republicans to "do the right thing" and fund the presidents priorities.

"We don't want to go down that road again," he said of the possibility of a shutdown. "Were almost two months ahead of the game here. There's plenty of time to fix this problem."

White House chief of staff Erskine Bowles sent Lott a pointed response to his letter, saying Republicans "do not intend to work with us and would rather politicize the budget process."

"There is no need for a governmentshutdown, but if there is one it will be because Republicans have either not done their job on time and finished the budget or have decided to short-change critical investments in our nations future," Bowles wrote in a letter faxed to reporters.

It was Republicans who got most of the blame for the last government shutdowns in late 1995 and early 1996 over spending priorities and they would like to turn the tables on the Democratic president if it reaches that point.