Nation & world briefing
Congress resists Bush’s drive for power
James Kunnhenn
Knight Ridder Newspapers (KRT)
WASHINGTON — Consumed by
waging war, the Bush administration
is increasingly giving the Republi
can-controlled Congress the back of
its hand, acting as if the legislative
branch were a constitutionally man
dated annoyance.
Administration officials have
abruptly canceled appearances be
fore congressional committees and
refused lawmakers’ requests for in
formation. Now President George W.
Bush wants to sidestep congression
al oversight of how he spends nearly
$75 billion that he is seeking for the
war and homeland security.
“Nice try,” scoffed Rep. Mark
Steven Kirk, R-Ill., during a hearing
on the spending plan. “There are a
lot of precedents we don’t want to
accept here.”
Since the beginning of his presi
dency, Bush and his team have
worked hard to reinvigorate the ex
ecutive branch of government. But
increasingly, with the United States
fighting wars against terror and Iraq,
Bush is seeking even broader au
thority to act without answering to
legislative scrutiny. The administra
tion says it needs “flexibility” to
spend much of the money —- mean*
ing it wants to be free to spend it any
way it wants without having to ask
Congress first.
Congress is beginning to push
back.
Legislative committees could put
their stamp on how the $75 billion is
spent as early as Tuesday. Republi
cans and Democrats have already
made clear that they intend to give
the president the money he wants,
and perhaps more. But they want to
rein in the president’s drive for ex
panded authority.
“I don’t know how that flexibility
works, but the Congress has always
balked at giving too much flexibility,
because it is our responsibility to
watch the purse,” said House Majori
ty Leader Tom DeLay of Texas, one
of Bush’s staunchest allies.
To many lawmakers, Bush’s re
quest for flexibility is only the latest
example of administration disdain, if
not contempt, for Congress. Time
and again, Republicans and Democ
rats say, the Bush administration has
Stiff-armed lawmakers or scorned
their committees.
One week before IIS. cruise mis
siles began falling on Baghdad, Pen
tagon officials turned down a Senate
Foreign Relations Committee’s re
quest for top Pentagon officials to
testify about reconstruction in post
war Iraq.
Instead, defense officials chose to
brief journalists on that subject the
same day. “No answers!” fumed Sen.
Chuck Hagel, R-Neb. “That does not
encourage a great amount of trust
and cooperation.”
Also on the same day, Treasury
Undersecretary Peter Fisher
abruptly canceled his scheduled
appearance before the Senate Fi
nance Committee, where he would
have likely faced questions about
rising budget deficits and thq na
tional debt.
“If I weren’t a Republican, it
wouldn’t be so embarrassing,”
committee Chairman Charles
Grassley said.
Bush’s own condescension has ir
ritated members of Congress. Near
ly two weeks before he launched the
war on Iraq, Bush referred publicly
to lawmakers as “the spenders.”
That “certainly encourages warm
feelings,” Hagel said sarcastically.
It’s to be expected that Democ
rats would complain about treat
ment by the Republican White
House. What’s noteworthy, howev
er, is that such criticism now comes
from many Republicans in Con
gress, including some who vote reg
ularly with the president. By skip
ping the Foreign Relations
Committee hearing, for example,
the administration got crosswise
with Sen. Richard Lugar, R-Ind., the
panel’s chairman and an influential
player on international issues.
“There’s a strain of arrogance in
all of this,” said one Republican sen
ator, on the condition of anonymity.
“They need to do a better job.”
Grover Norquist, a conservative
activist with close ties to the White
House, said lawmakers have a
point. “There is a sense that the
White House has to understand
that they are co-equal branches of
government.”
© 2003, Knight Ridder/Tribune
Information Services. Knight Ridder
Newspapers correspondent Diego
Ibarguen contributed to this report.
War correspondents face penalties for coverage
Tom jicha
South Florida Sun-Sentinel (KRT)
Journalists’ mistakes put their
jobs at risk. Loose lips not only sink
ships during wartime, they can tor
pedo a career.
TWo of TV’s most recognizable and
controversial figures, Peter Arnett
and Geraldo Rivera, found this out
over the weekend.
Arnett was fired Monday from his
job covering the war for NBC and
MSNBC after he expressed negative
opinions about U.S. conduct of the
conflict on state-run Iraqi TV. Rivera
was threatened with expulsion from
Iraq by the U.S. military for being
too specific about the location and
battle plans of the 101st Airborne
troops, with whom he was traveling.
It was first reported that Rivera
had been expelled, but Fox disputed
this. On his evening newscast on
Fox, Brit Hume said, “His further as
signment has not been determined.”
Arnett, an acclaimed war corre
spondent, was technically working for
National Geographic on MSNBC, and
freelancing for NBC and its sister ca
ble network. However, when NBC re
acted to criticism of Arnett by an
nouncing it would no longer use him,
he also lost his job with National Geo
graphic. He was subsequently hired
by Britain’s Daily Mirror.
Unlike Rivera, who spoke with
out thinking, thereby putting the
lives oftroops and himself in jeop
ardy, Arnett was punished for being
too analytical. The First Amend
ment doesn’t apply to employee
employer situations.
The Arnett firestorm erupted af
ter he opined on Iraqi TV that the
United States’ war strategy is a fail
ure and needs to be revised. “Clear
ly, the American war planners mis
judged the determination of the
Iraqi forces.”
Appearing from Baghdad on
Monday’s “Today” show on NBC,
he acknowledged he had made a
mistake. “I want to apologize to the
American people for clearly mak
ing a misjudgment.”
In a prepared statement, NBC
said, “It was wrong for Mr. Arnett to
grant an interview to state-con
trolled Iraqi TV, especially at a time
of war. And it was wrong for him to
discuss his personal observations
and opinions in the interview.”
Given Rivera’s history when it
comes to time and place, it’s ques
tionable why the Army would be up
set with him. While reporting from
Afghanistan two years ago, Rivera
told Fox News Channel viewers he
was standing on “hallowed ground,”
where the day before three Green
Beret soldiers had been killed. It was
subsequently found Rivera was
standing about 300 miles from the
hallowed ground.
Trying to recoup, Rivera, whose
colorful style is marked by his pen
chant to make any story all about
him, said he had confused the Green
Beret deaths with a similar incident.
The problem was that similar inci
dent took place three days after his
dispatch. Fox News Channel called it
an honest mistake.
Having Rivera working for you
means often having to say you’re
sorry.
© 2003 South Florida Sun-Sentinel.
Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune
Information Services.
Use your UO student or faculty ID
as your passport around town!
With it, you can ride all buses on all LTD routes FREE*— anytime and anywhere LTD travels.
Lane Transit District
*Pass is provided through the ASUO student fees.
687-5555 (Guest Services)
ltd@ltd.lane.or.us (E-mail)
WWW.ltd.org (Internet)
800-735-2900 (TTY)
Or, BREEZE around town! Catch the BREEZE
to great shopping and restaurants. It’s the Way to Go!
Look for your Handy Dandy Guide at the EMU or the LTD downtown center.
It showcases shortcuts to and from the UO campus.