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

To: Mephisto who wrote (3016)	2/26/2002 12:06:33 AM
From: Mephisto	Respond to of 15516

Senator to Join GAO Lawsuit, Seeking Nuclear Info Mon Feb 25, 5:08 PM ET WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A leading Democratic senator said on Monday he is joining a congressional lawsuit against the White House, hoping to glean information about the Bush administration's move to dispose of nuclear waste in Nevada. Sen. Harry Reid of Nevada, the chamber's assistant majority leader, said he would file a brief in federal court supporting the lawsuit initiated on Friday by the David Walker, Comptroller General of the General Accounting Office, the investigative law of Congress. The GAO lawsuit, Walker v. Cheney, seeks records of a task force led by Vice President Dick Cheney that was involved in crafting the administration's energy policy last year. The suit was filed at the request of Democratic lawmakers who say environmentalists were mostly excluded from the closed-door task force meetings, while companies like Enron Corp. had ample access. The resulting policy called for more oil and gas drilling and a revival of nuclear power. Reid said he would join the legal battle because he wants to know whether the task force meetings had an influence on Bush's recent decision to dispose of 70,000 tons of nuclear waste at Yucca Mountain, 90 miles (144 km) northwest of Las Vegas -- a decision Reid has harshly criticized. The senator issued a statement saying he will file an amicus or "friend of the court" brief demanding information about the Cheney energy task force meetings. "There is no question that vice President Cheney met on several occasions with nuclear power executives," Reid said in the statement. "Cheney needs to stop hiding the truth. He should tell the public which executives he met with, and when he met with them." The White House says it will argue that releasing records from the energy task force would erode White House authority, signaling an intense legal and constitutional battle between the legislative and executive branches of government. Nevada has filed a lawsuit separately against the Bush administration to fight the decision to make Yucca Mountain the final resting place for radioactive material. Critics of that plan worry that radioactive material might seep into the ground, and cite the risks of transporting nuclear waste over great distances. Reid claims that Bush "betrayed our trust" on Yucca Mountain by breaking a campaign promise not to proceed without sound scientific study. "I hope that my actions help the GAO lawsuit," Reid said in his statement. "Americans are entitled to know who was involved in those secret meetings." The original request for the GAO action came from two members of the House of Representatives, Democrats Henry Waxman and John Dingell, although four key senators have also endorsed the GAO's probe as important to ongoing Enron investigations. Republican leaders in both houses of Congress say the GAO is not entitled to the information it seeks, but a few Republicans have supported the GAO position. story.news.yahoo.com