[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 12]
[House]
[Page 17418]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




 VICE PRESIDENT CHENEY NEEDS TO TAKE A CIVICS CLASS--HE IS A MEMBER OF 
                          THE EXECUTIVE BRANCH

  (Ms. WATSON asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Ms. WATSON. Mr. Speaker, Vice President Cheney has been serving as 
the Vice President now for 7 years, and he is claiming that he is not a 
member of the executive branch.
  We didn't hear the Vice President disputing his place in the 
executive branch when he claimed executive privilege at congressional 
attempts to have Cheney make public his energy task force members.
  No, Cheney is once again trying to do an end-run around the rules. 
Last week the House Oversight Committee learned that Cheney had 
exempted his office from the Presidential order that establishes 
government-wide procedures for safeguarding classified national 
security information.
  Editorials nationwide are decrying Cheney's actions. The Kansas City 
Star said that this is another example of his ``insistence on secrecy 
and his disdain for open government.'' USA Today said there was ``no 
surer way for leaders to get the country in trouble than to mix 
arrogance with secrecy.''
  Let's see if the President is still actually standing up to his 
second.

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