The Blue State

Democratic House a failure -- except Henry Waxman

No Democrat in the House of Representatives deserves reelection in 2008 more than Congressman Henry Waxman (D-CA).  When voters elected Democrats to end the war and investigate the Bush Administration, Waxman was one of the few lawmakers that listened and acted.  He chairs the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.

In the last few days, Waxman has worked overtime on the issue of contractors, and has the White House worried:

For months, Rep. Henry  A. Waxman, chairman of the House oversight committee, has been threatening, subpoenaing and just plain badgering Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice  to come before his panel to answer questions about the run-up to the Iraq  war, corruption and State Department  contracting.

Today, Rice will finally appear. But Waxman (D-Calif.) has not spentthe week on a victory lap. He has found time to produce evidenceaccusing State Department security contractor Blackwater Worldwide of tax evasion, to fire off a letter to Rice demandinginformation about alleged mismanagement of a $1 billion contract totrain Iraqi police , and to hold a hearing on uranium poisoning on Navajo land.

Waxman has become the Bush administration's worst nightmare: a Democratin the majority with subpoena power and the inclination to overturnrocks. But in Waxman the White House also faces an indefatigable capital veteran -- with a staff renownedfor its depth and experience -- who has been waiting for this for 14years.

Now that is called answering the call of fed up voters!

Waxman Invites Condi to Testify

Congressman Henry Waxman D-CA is the Chairman of the Committee on Oversightand Government Reform. The web page is a great place to stay up to date with ongoing investigations, both present and past.

Chairman WaxmanInvites Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice to Testify on April 18th -

The Committee has formally requested Secretary Rice to testify beforethe Oversight Committee on April 18th regarding the Administration’s claimsthat Iraq sought uranium from Niger, White House treatment of classifiedinformation, the appointment of Ambassador Jones as "specialcoordinator" for Iraq, and other subjects.

Invitationto Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice This link shows the new invitation,apparently she never responded to a previous one.

                                                                                                                   

 

Documents and Links

 

   
• Letter      to Secretary Rice Regarding Fabricated Niger Claims
   
• June      10, 2003: Administration Statements on Iraq Nuclear Evidence Contradict      Known Facts, Raise New Questions
   
• July      29, 2003: More Questions for NSA Rice on Iraq Nuclear Claims
   
• January      14, 2004: Rep. Waxman Investigates Inconsistencies in White House Leak      Responses
   
• February      17, 2005: Unanswered Questions Remain on Rice's Iraq Pick
   
• August      1, 2005: Letter to Secretary Rice
 

(Video) Waxman slams Administration for editing global warming reports

This morning, the House Oversight & Government Reform Committee heard testimony from the top scientists on the issue of global warming.  Chairman Henry Waxman (D-CA) slammed the Administration for editing key phrases in government reports that outlined the impact that CO2 emissions have had on our climate.  As the LA Times notes, some of these reports were edited by former oil men:

The congressmen were trying to investigate an allegation that PhilCooney, chairman of the Council on Environmental Quality and a formerlobbyist for the American petroleum industry, was quashing scientificreports that offered views on global warming that differed from thoseof the White House.

"The committee isn't trying to obtain state secrets or documentsthat could affect our immediate national security," Waxman said today."We are simply seeking answers to whether the White House's politicalstaff is inappropriately censoring impartial government scientists."

Below is a short clip of Henry Waxman noting the changes that some Administration officials made in these climate reports:

At the end of the week, the UN will release the most thorough and extensive report on global warming.   The report took six years to complete, and consulted more than 2,500 scientists from 130 countries.

Murtha and Waxman begin hiring investigators

• Henry Waxman - House Government Reform Committee Chairman
• John Murtha - House Defense Appropriations Committee Chairman
• John Conyers - House Judiciary Committee Chairman

Above are three individuals to watch very closely over the next two years.  As chairman of three very important House committees, they are promising investigations into Administration mismanagement and encourage a new direction.  Two of the three -- Waxman and Murtha -- are so serious about issuing subpoenas that they have reportedly begun hiring a team of investigators:

Evidence continues to mount that the new Democratic majority plans toinvestigate the war, energy policy, and other Bush policies, as keycommittees have begun hiring lawyer-investigators whose job will be toprobe the administration. In the House, for example, the AppropriationsCommittee under Rep. John Murtha's direction is hiring investigators who will be charged with looking intothe administration's war policies and spending in Iraq and Afghanistan.Also, Rep. Henry Waxman,the incoming chairman of the House Government Reform Committee who'sbeen dogging the vice president's energy task force, is also hiringlawyers. A Democratic leadership official said that the plannedhearings and investigations into the war and other issues thelawyer-investigators are being hired to look into will be "veryfocused." In the Senate, officials said similar hirings were underwayin a speeded up effort to have people in place for the start of the newCongress, especially the planned early January hearings into the warand military spending that are set to begin January 8.

The Democrats are set to take the gavel on January 4th.  Instead of adjourning until after the President's State of the Union Address later that month like in previous years, this Congress will get to work immediately.  House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is planning to pass a series of bills in the first 100 hours.