Pakistan’s $4.2 Billion ‘Blank Check’ for U.S. Military Aid
“In the three years after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, U.S. military aid to Pakistan soared to $4.2 billion, compared to $9.1 million in the three years before the attacks â a 45,000 percent increase â boosting Pakistan to the top tier of countries receiving this type of funding. More than half of the new money was provided through a post-9/11 Defense Department program â Coalition Support Funds â not closely tracked by Congress.” (Center for Public Integrity)
Report Charges Broad White House Efforts to Stifle Climate Research
“Bush administration officials throughout the government have engaged in White House-directed efforts to stifle, delay or dampen the release of climate change research that casts the White House or its policies in a bad light, says a new report that purports to be the most comprehensive assessment to date of the subject. Researchers for the non-profit watchdog Government Accountability Project reviewed thousands of e-mails, memos and other documents obtained through Freedom of Information Act requests and from government whistle-blowers and conducted dozens of interviews with public affairs staff, scientists, reporters and others.” (ABC’s The Blotter)
Faulty Contracts Cost the VA Millions
“The Department of Veterans Affairs backdated a key document and violated other rules as it pushed through a $100 million computer security contract that resulted in inflated prices and duplicate payments, according to a previously undisclosed report. In the end, the contract turned into ‘an open checkbook’ for various VA expenses, and the agency today can’t detail the whereabouts of some $35 million in equipment purchased under the contract, the report by the VA’s inspector general said.” (McClatchy Newspapers)
Guantanamo Prison Likely to Stay Open
“One high-profile prisoner, Australian David Hicks, may be out of Guantanamo prison soon. But as Hicks prepares to leave, a new inmate – accused of helping to plan a deadly 2002 hotel bombing in Kenya – arrived at the prison on the U.S. Naval Base on Cuba’s southeastern coast, underscoring that the controversial prison for terrorism suspects won’t close anytime soon.” (McClatchy Newspapers)
Approps Vows to Cut Earmarks
“Senate appropriators have warned their colleagues that there will be âsignificantâ cuts in the money set aside for Membersâ earmarks in this yearâs spending bills and that the current anti-earmark climate on Capitol Hill likely will limit the types of projects that will get funding. The warnings have come even as Democrats in the Senate appeared to be moving to block efforts by Republicans to strip out earmarks included in the emergency supplemental spending bill.” (Roll Call)
Ethics Committee Issues Earmark Conflict Rules
“The House ethics committee issued broad guidance Tuesday on the chamberâs new earmark disclosure rules, indicating that common sense is the best barometer to determine whether a Member has a direct financial interest in an earmark request. Members have recently expressed confusion over new rules that require them to certify that neither they nor their spouse stand to benefit financially from their earmarks.” (Roll Call)
Clyburn Impatient with Pending Jefferson Appointment
“More than a month after Democratic leaders announced Rep. William Jeffersonâs (D-LA.) appointment to the Homeland Security Committee, his chair still sits empty in the hearing room. And one member of the Democratic leadership is getting impatient. ‘I have made it clear that I favor Mr. Jeffersonâs [appointment],’ said Majority Whip James Clyburn (D-SC).” (The Hill)
Foley Back From Rehab; Florida Considers Charges
“Florida law enforcement officials are building a possible criminal case against disgraced former Congressman Mark Foley, R-Fla., based on sexually explicit instant messages that were sent from Pensacola, Fla., to an underage high school student, thereby falling under the state’s tough law on Internet sexual predators, ABC News has learned. Foley has begun to re-emerge publicly in Palm Beach, Fla., after spending weeks at an Arizona rehabilitation center for what his lawyer described as issues involving substance and his own alleged sexual abuse as a minor.” (ABC’s The Blotter)
Judge Dismisses Lawsuit Against Rumsfeld
“Former Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld cannot be tried on allegations of torture in overseas military prisons, a federal judge said Tuesday in a case he described as ‘lamentable.’ U.S. District Judge Thomas F. Hogan threw out a lawsuit brought on behalf of nine former prisoners in Iraq and Afghanistan. He said Rumsfeld cannot be held personally responsible for actions taken in connection with his government job.” (Associated Press)
