Editorial:More White House hide-and-seek

More White House hide-and-seek
Editorial
Article Last Updated: 06/23/2007 02:59:16 AM EDT


Saturday, June 23
The revelation by the General Accountability Office that the Bush administration has refused to enact six laws it disagrees with and Vice President Cheney's suggestion that a pesky oversight agency be abolished for attempting to do its job adds to the mountainous pile of evidence testifying to this White House's disrespect for Congress, the laws of this nation and the people of this nation. This lot has done everything to the Constitution but put it through a shredder.
Mr. Bush has attached signing statements to 149 bills, saying in essence that he won't abide by the new laws if he chooses not to. The GAO only investigated 19 of them, and its discovery that about one-third were not followed makes it safe to assume that the six examples only scratch the surface. In one case, the Pentagon did not break down into separate documents its 2007 budget request for Iraq War funding as mandated by the law, and in another, the Federal Emergency Management Agency ignored Congress' directive to submit a spending plan for housing.

The Information Security Oversight Office, a division of the National Archives, is charged with routine oversight of how the vice president's office handles classified information. Mr. Cheney, who we assume must have plenty to hide, has resisted its efforts for the last four years, and according to an investigation by Representative Henry A. Waxman, the chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, has proposed that the agency be abolished.

Mr. Bush has no complaint with the oversight committee but the vice president argues that has office has a legislative status and cannot be investigated by a committee based in the executive office. In essence, the vice president's office, being both legislative and executive, can't be investigated by either. The argument is absurd but the hapless agency is left to appeal to the third branch of government — Alberto Gonzales' Justice Department. It can be assumed the cavalry will not be coming.

more:http://www.berkshireeagle.com/editorials/ci_6210422

it's amazing how reluctant they are to reveal anything about themselves, even their visitors, but they want to know everything
about YOU.