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Politics : The Donkey's Inn -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Mephisto who wrote (1318)	12/5/2001 4:05:13 PM
From: Kenneth E. Phillipps	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 15516

Looks like Senator Patty Murray has delivered for the State of Washington. She authored a transportation bill which is sending a lot of money to the State of Washington which should help with our traffic congestion.

To: Mephisto who wrote (1318)	12/6/2001 12:55:54 AM
From: Mephisto	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 15516

Democratic Lawmaker Asks White House About Enron Wednesday December 5 9:19 PM ET WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A Democratic lawmaker has written to the White House demanding to know what contacts its energy taskforce had with collapsed energy giant Enron Corp., aides said on Wednesday, adding to a growing list of congressional queries into the company. Rep. Henry Waxman , a California Democrat and ranking member of the Government Reform Committee, wrote to Vice President Richard Cheney seeking information on Enron's possible influence on the Republican administration's energy policy. ``I am writing to ask that you release information about secret contacts your energy taskforce had with Enron Corporation,'' said the letter, which was dated Tuesday. ``Press reports indicate Enron -- a major Republican contributor -- had detailed communications with the taskforce and other senior administration officials,'' Waxman wrote. He noted that Enron's Chairman Kenneth Lay had contributed to President Bush's campaigns, and said other administration officials had served on Enron advisory boards, as consultants or owned large amounts of Enron stock. ``Perhaps as a result of these contacts, Enron and Mr. Lay appear to have exerted a significant influence on the task force,'' Waxman wrote. Cheney's vice presidential counsel, David Addington, said ''We have received the congressman's letter and we will review it and appropriately respond to the congressman.'' Cheney has acknowledged meeting Lay once during the development of the energy plan. ``All the meetings he had in the context of the energy plan were all regular meetings, by the book,'' a senior aide to the vice president said. Cheney's staff would search records and prepare a response, he said. In a May interview on PBS television's ``Frontline,'' Cheney denied that he and Lay had discussed Lay's dissatisfaction with Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (news - web sites) head Curtis Hebert, who was later replaced by reported Lay favorite Pat Wood. ENRON 'TIP LINE' Waxman has also set up an ``Enron Tip Line'' on the committee minority staff's Web site asking Enron workers to pass on information for a probe into the company, aides said. ``We have two concerns. One is the meetings (with the energy taskforce). Second, what happened at Enron that resulted in self-enrichment of a few people while workers and shareholders ended up with nothing?'' asked his spokesman, Phil Schiliro. Waxman has been trying for months to get details of whom the White House consulted in developing its energy plan, which was announced in May and called for more oil and gas drilling and a revived nuclear power program. The General Accounting Office (news - web sites) also demanded information, but the White House largely rebuffed their requests. On Sept. 10, GAO's chief David Walker said he would decide by the end of the month whether to sue the White House over its refusal to give information about who it consulted while drafting the energy policy. But the air attacks on the United States on Sept. 11 intervened, and Walker issued a statement in October saying he would decide on a possible lawsuit ``in due course.'' He has not announced a decision. Congressional probes of Enron are proliferating. California Sen. Barbara Boxer (news - bio - voting record) charged that Enron broke the law when it prohibited employees from divesting company shares from their retirement plans. The House Energy and Commerce Committee has asked the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to turn over documents related to Enron's financial records. The House Financial Services Committee says that two of its subcommittees will hold a joint hearing on the issue on Dec. 12. Also, the Democratic-led Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee plans to investigate the impact of Enron financial troubles on the overall U.S. energy market. dailynews.yahoo.com