Submitted by Conor Kenny on
Democrats in Congress this week challenged their Republicans colleagues in the House and Senate and the Bush Administration, approving contempt citations for two White House aides and a controversial intelligence authorization that drew a veto threat from President Bush.
The animosity on the Hill came on the heels of a bipartisan push to approve an economic stimulus package, which Bush signed on Wednesday. The spirit of compromise that ushered the stimulus bill through Congress in less than two weeks was quickly erased when the debate over intelligence reform resumed this week.
When Democrats in the House approved contempt citations for former White House counsel Harriet Miers and White House Chief of Staff Josh Bolton – rather than conference with the Senate on a reform of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act – GOP members walked out and staged a protest on the Capitol steps.
President Bush today criticized House Democrats for not working with the Senate on the RESTORE Act, alleging that their failure to approve the legislation before the expiration of the Protect America Act. The PAA, which modified FISA to give the government broad new powers to listen in on phone calls without a warrant, was approved in August with a 180-day sunset clause. The RESTORE Act is meant to be permanent FISA reform.
House Republicans, bolstered by a group of 30 liberal Democrats who opposed the broader language, defeated an attempt to extend the PAA, which expires tonight. The House has since entered into a 12-day recess, and any further action on the RESTORE Act will therefore have to wait.
Meanwhile, negotiations on the long-debated farm bill appear to be at a standstill. Each chamber of Congress has approved a version of the bill, and all the remains to be done is reconciling the differences between the House and Senate versions of the bill in conference committee. Members of the House announced a compromise proposal this week, which was quickly rebuked by Senate representatives. The Senate on Friday introduced its own proposal.
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