The Campaign To Boost Bush's Legacy

The Campaign To Boost Bush's Legacy
A network of aides to former president Bush are working behind the scenes to keep his legacy alive and unblemished, Politico reports.
Pelosi jet use draws conservative fire again

by Frank James

It didn't really work the first time they tried it but that's not stopping conservative critics of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi from taking another run at trying to ding her by accusing her of misusing military jets.

Judicial Watch issued a press release yesterday along with copies of official e-mails it secured through the Freedom of Information Act, documents which led it to its opinion that Pelosi is rather high-handed about her use of military jets.

An excerpt from the press release:

"Taken together, these documents show that Speaker Pelosi treats the Air Force like her personal airline," said Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton. "Not only does Speaker Pelosi issue unreasonable requests for military travel, but her office seems unconcerned about wasting taxpayer money with last minute cancellations and other demands."

Fox News picked up Judicial Watch's report.

Pelosi's office issued the following statement:

Speaker's Travel between Washington and the District

Following the attacks of 9/11, the Bush White House instituted a policy for the Speaker of the House, for security reasons, to travel on a military planewhenever availableback and forth to their congressional district only.

Use of Aircraft

The availability and size of the military aircraft is determined by the Department of Defense. Typically, when Speaker Pelosi uses military aircraft to travel between her Congressional District and Washington, the military assigns the same 12-seat aircraft used by her predecessor, Speaker Dennis Hastert of Illinois.

The House Sergeant at Arms asked for an aircraft that can travel between the District and Washington without refueling citing security reasons. See statement below from Sergeant at Arms Bill Livingood dated February 8, 2007:

As the Sergeant at Arms, I have the responsibility to ensure the security of the members of the House of Representatives, to include the Speaker of the House. The Speaker requires additional precautions due to her responsibilities as the leader of the House and her Constitutional position as second in the line of succession to the presidency.

In a post 9/11 threat environment, it is reasonable and prudent to provide military aircraft to the Speaker for official travel between Washington and her district. The practice began with Speaker Hastert and I have recommended that it continue with Speaker Pelosi. The fact that Speaker Pelosi lives in California compelled me to request an aircraft that is capable of making non-stop flights for security purposes, unless such an aircraft is unavailable. This will ensure communications capabilities and also enhance security. I made the recommendation to use military aircraft based upon the need to provide necessary levels of security for ranking national leaders, such as the Speaker. I regret that an issue that is exclusively considered and decided in a security context has evolved into a political issue.

This myth has been thoroughly debunked and invalidated by researchers at a variety of nonpartisan organizations including Factcheck.org, a project of the Annenberg Public Policy Foundation at the University of Pennsylvania, which wrote :

The spread of this rumorand its first debunkingdates back to February 2007. At that time, the speaker of the House had had access to an Air Force craft for about five and a half years. Hastert had been issued a plane after Sept. 11, 2001, for security reasons (the speaker of the House is next in line after the vice president for presidential succession).

When Pelosi became speaker, House Sergeant at Arms Bill Livingood, according to his own account , worried that the small craft [that Hastert used] would be unable to travel to her home district of San Francisco without stopping to refuel. Livingood, who was first elected by a Newt Gingrich-led House in 1995 , asked the Air Force and the Department of Defense about getting a bigger plane.

Department of Defense makes ALL decisions about military travel

The Department of Defense makes all decisions concerning the use of military aircraft by Members of Congress, and the House has complied with all Department of Defense rules in this area.

It is a function of the Speaker's office to coordinate Congressional delegation travel and act as a liaison between the Department of Defense and Members of Congress.

The Speaker is extraordinarily appreciative of the Department of Defense's efforts to accommodate requests from Congress.

***
Mr. TONY SNOW (White House Press Secretary): I think this is much ado about not a whole lot. It is important for the speaker to have this kind of protection in travel. It was certainly appropriate for Speaker Hastert, and so we trust that all sides will get this worked out. (National Public Radio, 2/8/07).

Possible Change To Labor Law Ignites Controversy

Two Democratic lawmakers introduced legislation Tuesday that has stirred up a firestorm of debate between business interests and labor groups. The Employee Free Choice Act would amend existing labor law. If passed, workers could form a union if the majority of them sign cards requesting one.