Administration

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) has asked two house committees to hold hearings examining the Bush administration's regulation of U.S. financial systems in light of today's federal buyout of Wall Street giant AIG.

"I have asked Chairman Barney Frank of the Financial Services Committee and Chairman Henry Waxman of the Oversight and Government Reform Committee to hold a series of hearings that will examine the Bush Administration

Congress should demand that the Department of Defense (DoD) give detailed reports on its plans to withdraw troops from Iraq as those plans develop, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) recommended today in a new report.

"Without more specific reporting from [DoD], Congress may not be able to effectively exercise its oversight responsibilities" as troops and materiel begin to come home, the GAO wrote.

"Congress may wish to consider directing DOD to report specific details on the status of reposturing plans and how it intends to mitigate issues such as those we identify," the GAO recommended.

President Bush yesterday announced he would withdraw 8,000 troops from Iraq by February, and the Bush administration is still negotiating with Iraq over how long and how many troops will stay there. Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said in an interview earlier this summer that a 16-month timetable seemed right to him.

DoD's plans lack clearly defined roles and responsibilities for those managing the removal of equipment from Iraq, according to the GAO. DoD began planning for withdrawal in the fall of 2007, with a "logistical framework" coalescing in May 2008, the GAO found.

Today's report recommended DoD keep an eye on the following isses, mainly focusing on the removal of equipment, not soldiers themselves:

We identified the following nine issues that DOD should consider as it develops a comprehensive plan for reposturing U.S. forces from Iraq: (1) agreed-upon guidance for environmental cleanup and the disposition of property, which could affect the time and cost of closing bases in Iraq; (2) guidance and plans for the reposturing of contractors from Iraq; (3) accountability and disposition of contractor-managed government-owned property; (4) the possibility of restrictive conditions on the use of facilities in Kuwait and other neighboring countries; (5) availability of power-washing equipment and stands, called wash racks, and the number of customs inspectors in Kuwait; (6) capacity of military transports and convoy security assets, including limits on the main supply route; (7) increased demand for access to mental health care providers; (8) infrastructure requirements of returning units; and (9) requirements for training and equipment reset to restore readiness. DOD has begun to address these issues.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates will allow a Defense Department (DoD) official to testify before a House Oversight and Government Reform subcommittee, reversing previous DoD protests and agreeing to cooperate with an investigation on sexual assault in the military, the committee announced today.

Dr. Kaye Whitley was instructed by superiors not to appear at a July 31 hearing on the matter despite a subpoena from the committee. Whitely serves as director of the DoD's Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Office.

A superior official claimed that he, not Whitley, was accountable to Congress on the military's sexual assault prevention efforts. Read more...

Attorney General Michael Mukasey said Wednesday that proposed new guidelines wouldn't allow the Federal Bureau of Investigation to start a preliminary probe solely because of a person

Karl Rove, the former strategist for President Bush, may be held in contempt if he doesn't honor a subpoena and testify before the House Judiciary Committee on Thursday, Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.) said.

The committee wants Rove to testify about his role in the firings of U.S. attorneys and the prosecution of former Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman (D).

Wasserman Schultz, who has said before that the committee would be willing to arrest Rove if he didn't appear, said on MSNBC Tuesday that the House Democratic leadership has yet to decide whether it would actually hold Rove in contempt. But she said that Democrats would "explore all the options available."

"I know that those decisions have not been made," she said. "And I know that we are going to explore all of the options available. This is very serious. I mean, we're talking about somebody who has intricate detailed knowledge not just about the Don Siegelman case but a variety of things. And it is high time, long past time that he come in front of the Judiciary Committee and answer those questions, especially because he's answered them on national television."

She added that Democratic leaders have not asked the committee to take its rhetoric over Rove's appearance "down a notch."

"I mean, let me just tell you, we are all deadly serious about making sure that we can get the information that we believe we need," she said. "Congress, since the Democrats took over, has re-engaged in terms of our oversight role, which was nonexistent under the Republicans. And so, we take our oversight role very seriously."

Former White House official Brad Blakeman, who appeared with Wasserman Schultz on MSNBC, said that the House Judiciary Committee just wants "a show."

"And they want Karl to sit in a chair and ask him a ton of ridiculous questions, many of which he's going to have to invoke his privilege and the president's privilege and that's just ridiculous," he said.

The Senate Judiciary Committee will get a chance to question Attorney General Michael Mukasey at an oversight hearing July 9.

The appearance will be Mukasey's first before the Judiciary Committee since Jan. 30. Senate aides told The Hill's J. Taylor Rushing that specific topics had not yet been finalized, but an entire spectrum of topics are possible, ranging from funding needs and hiring practices to the issue of torture and the recent Supreme Court decision regarding detainee policies.

The Justice Department illegally favored conservative candidates for its entry-level honors program, according to a new report by the department's own inspector general and ethics office.

The report, released Tuesday, found that a group working under Attorney General John Ashcroft in 2002 allowed political appointees to take over the screening committee responsible for interviewing and selecting candidates. In the past, the less partisan career department employees had run the selection process.

Download the report here.

House Oversight and Government Reform Chairman Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) today called on President Bush to declassify information regarding plans for U.S. military bases in Iraq, expressing concern about speculation of permanent bases.

The administration's critics have speculated that Bush intends to establish permanent bases, as the administration pushes for a security deal between the U.S. and Iraq. Ambassador Ryan Crocker, the top U.S. diplomat in Iraq, has denied any such plans.

In a letter to Bush today, Waxman asked that "in light of these [Crocker's] statements, I respectfully request that you exercise your authority under Executive Order 12958 to declassify information regarding the plans for military bases in Iraq."

"Mr. President, many Americans believe that a plan exists to establish military bases in Iraq that will remain indefinitely.

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) today announced it would limit the trading of oil futures after a bipartisan group of senators called for such a measure earlier this month.

Democratic and Republican senators had alleged that futures speculation has helped to drive up the price of oil.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), one of the senators who led the call, lauded the decision today in a press release.

"Today

House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chariman Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) says his committee will consider voting on whether or not to hold Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Stephen Johnson and White House official Susan Dudley in contempt for failing to turn over subpoenaed documents relating to the EPA's 2007 California emissions decision.

Last month Waxman released e-mails and testimony that, he said, proved White House involvement in the decision. Waxman subpoenaed the EPA in April, demanding documents related to the decision.

In 2007 the EPA denied California's 2005 request to enforce stricter regulations on greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles. California sued the EPA over the decision in January.

Waxman has battled with the EPA over documents repeatedly since fall, publicly blasting the agency as it has missed deadlines set by the chairman for their release.