House Dems Move To Cut Cheney's Funding

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/06/27/politics/main2987743.shtml
House Dems Move To Cut Cheney's Funding
Spending Bill Amendment Response To VP's Claim He Is Not Part Of Executive Branch


WASHINGTON, June 27, 2007


"Everything we learned in U.S. government class was wrong. Evidently, the Vice President does not consider himself a part of the executive branch, and therefore believes he can obstruct meaningful oversight and avoid being held accountable." Rep. Rahm Emanuel, D-Ill.

(CBS/AP) House Democrats, responding to Vice President Dick Cheney's assertion that his office is exempt from certain national security disclosure requirements, said Tuesday they will try to strip his office's funding.

The proposal to eliminate funding for Cheney's office would come as an amendment to an annual spending bill, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., said. This amendment may come up on the House floor either late tonight or tomorrow.

Cheney set off protests from Democrats when he declared that his office was exempt from sections of a presidential order that executive branch offices provide data on how much material they classify and declassify. The White House agreed, saying that Cheney's office was exempt from the reporting order because it was not intended to treat the vice president's office as an executive branch "agency."

According to Rep. Henry Waxman, chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, Cheney not only violated Executive Order 12958 by blocking the National Archives from conducting security inspections in his office, his staff also sought to abolish the Information Security Oversight Office.

Rep. Rahm Emanuel, D-Ill., sponsor of the de-funding amendment, noted that five years ago Cheney claimed executive privilege in refusing to release details about his meetings with oil industry executives to discuss energy policy.

"Now when we want to know what he's doing as it relates to America's national security in the lead-up to the war in Iraq and after the fact, the vice president has declared he is a member of the legislative branch."

more...

That is priceless.

Yippers

Has Cheney responded to any of this?

tomorrow.

Let Halliburton pay for his expenses!

Hill! :rofl:

But it'll be fun to watch Rs sputtering.