Waxman says he has a big problem

[Robbien]

there are so many areas of possible wrongdoing, his biggest problem will be deciding which ones to pursue.

:rofl:

There's the response to Hurricane Katrina, government contracting in Iraq and on homeland security, political interference in regulatory decisions by the Environmental Protection Agency and the Food and Drug Administration, and allegations of war profiteering, Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., told the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce.

"I'm going to have an interesting time because the Government Reform Committee has jurisdiction over everything," Waxman said Friday, three days after his party's capture of Congress put him in line to chair the panel. "The most difficult thing will be to pick and choose."

http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2006-11-10-waxman_x.htm

You just gotta love that man.

[AlCzervik]

1. Henry Waxman imo has been one of the most under appreciated members

of congress.

[MannyGoldstein]

9. Agreed!

Absolutely.

[happydreams]

41. You got that right. He has been working his ass off compiling

a hugh dossier on these bastards. A reveiw of the Nuremberg process, where many crimes were committed may help to narrow the field to the most serious crimes.

[onehandle]

2. Can't wait to see him in action again.

Younger folks here may not remember, but he was a major ass-kicker of crooked right-wingers.

[BattyDem]

3. So many crimes ... so little time

Waxman's going to need a bigger staff! :rofl:

[EFerrari]

4. Take your time, Henry.

:evilgrin:

[fooj]

5. Nail the treasonous rat bastards to the wall.

Take all of the time you need, Henry. Just DO IT!

[EFerrari]

19. I want to see a picture of my former Congressman smiling

ear to ear. :hi:

[SoCalDem]

6. How do you eat an elephant?

One bite at a time..

Just take your time, Henry..start at the beginning, and keep at it..

[Tellurian]

7. Well, Sen. Waxman..rest easy..

you'll have no shortage of volunteers, if you need them.

[Graybeard]

8. Gee, they might have to work Mondays and Fridays...

...the Repukes won't like that at all.

[porphyrian]

10. Give that man some extra help, because we want all of it investigated. - n/t

[texanwitch]

11. Hell Henry just one pick and get started.

We got some :kick: to do.

[UTUSN]

12. His only problem is that I admire him so much, plus

WEXLER, FRANK, RANGEL, CONYERS, other Reps from FL...

[waiting for hope]

13. Katina ....

Lack of response AND fiducial waste....KB&R/Halliburton got those contracts. I'd love to see that big zit of a company take a huge fall for their pure greed. And don't forget the Lagniappe, Cheney and BushCo will get smeared with that one too!

[mucifer]

14. he can start with a little investigating here a little investigating there

a little more... a little more... and after a while there will be so much public outrage congress will have no choice but to impeach both bush and cheney :)

ok my dream but I'll stick by it for a while anyway.

[B Calm]

15. I love Waxman!

[whirlygigspin]

16. deep throat says:

follow the oil meetings Henry

[Psephos]

17. Waxman is tireless, and his staff is razor sharp n/t

[Canuckistanian]

18. Remember the "Waxman Letter"?

http://www.rawstory.com/news/2006/Congressman_writes_White_House_Did_President_0315.html

Congressman writes White House: Did President knowingly sign law that didn't pass?

RAW STORY
Published: Wednesday March 15, 2006

Representative Henry Waxman (D-CA) has alleged in a letter to White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card that President Bush signed a version of the Budget Reconciliation Act that, in effect, did not pass the House of Representatives.

Further, Waxman says there is reason to believe that the Speaker of the House called President Bush before he signed the law, and alerted him that the version he was about to sign differed from the one that actually passed the House. If true, this would put the President in willful violation of the U.S. Constitution.

The full text of the letter follows:

March 15, 2006

The Honorable Andrew Card

Chief of Staff

The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20500

Dear Mr. Card:

On February 8, 2006, President Bush signed into law a version of the Deficit Reduction Omnibus Reconciliation Act of 2005 that was different in substance from the version that passed the U.S. House of Representatives. Legal scholars have advised me that the substantive differences between the versions - which involve $2 billion in federal spending - mean that this bill did not meet the fundamental constitutional requirement that both Houses of Congress must pass any legislation signed into law by the President.

I am writing to learn what the President and his staff knew about this constitutional defect at the time the President signed the legislation.

Detailed background about the legislation and its constitutional defects are contained in a letter I sent last month to House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, which I have enclosed with this letter.<1> In summary, the House-passed version of the legislation required the Medicare program to lease "durable medical equipment," such as wheelchairs, for seniors and other beneficiaries for up to 36 months, while the version of the legislation signed by the President limited the duration of these leases to just 13 months. As the Congressional Budget Office reported, this seemingly small change from 36 months to 13 months has a disproportionately large budgetary impact, cutting Medicare outlays by $2 billion over the next five years.<2>

I understand that a call was made to the White House before the legislation was signed by the President advising the White House of the differences between the bills and seeking advice about how to proceed. My understanding is that the call was made either by the Speaker of the House to the President or by the senior staff of the Speaker to the senior staff of the President.

I would like to know whether my understanding is correct. If it is, the implications are serious.

The Presentment Clause of the U.S. Constitution states that before a bill can become law, it must be passed by both Houses of Congress.<3> When the President took the oath of office, he swore to "preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States," which includes the Presentment Clause. If the President signed the Reconciliation Act knowing its constitutional infirmity, he would in effect be placing himself above the Constitution.

I do not raise this issue lightly. Given the gravity of the matter and the unusual circumstances surrounding the Reconciliation Act, Congress and the public need a straightforward explanation of what the President and his staff knew on February 8, when the legislation was signed into law.

Sincerely,

Henry A. Waxman Ranking Minority Member

Enclosure

This is the right man for the job.

[Fovea]

20. Let's see if we can actually help here

assuming there were world enough and time...

But with finite time and resources, what is the order of triage?

I assume, for a starting point, that the worst of the reasonably assured
conviction offenses would be the best starting point.

My candidate for this catagory is--
the abrogation of FISA.

What's yours?

[malaise]

21. Wack them Waxman n/t

[OneBlueSky]

22. one area of inquiry that must be on the table is the 9/11 coverup . . .

the 9/11 attacks have been used by BushCo to justify the war, the curtailing of civil rights and civil liberties, and virtually every other dastardly initiative they've undertaken . . .

we MUST have an honest, open, and thorough investigation to find out exactly what happened on that day, and who was responsible and/or helpful . . .

[DearAbby]

23. I dont envy the work this good man has in front of him

He is going to be like a cat in a room full of mice, where to run first!
Just pick one and sic 'em.

I would suggest the missing money that is flowing into pockets, that is supposed to be for reconstruction of Iraq.

But that is if you ask me ::shy smile::

I trust Mr Waxman, knows better than I, where to go first.

[Jack Rabbit]

24. That's a problem, all right

So much to investigate. So little time.

[Tellurian]

25. Nancy may need to float a resolution..

Hiring 100-200 extra prosecutors to get a handle on the quasi investigations.
Temporarily, of course, with an expiration date of 2016.

[LizW]

26. It's funny 'cause it's true!

Where would you start if you were in charge of holding hearings? Do you go by the worst war crime first, or do you start with the small stuff and build up? Or go in chronological order? And where does Katrina come in there? That was a crime against our own citizens!

And the big question -- Do you start right now, or do you wait so the hearings are in full swing for the next elections?

[FlaGranny]

27. No need to wait

because if the hearings started today, there is enough crap for the hearings to go on for years. That's the problem. There's too much to investigate. Every single day of the * presidency has been ripe with a new outrage.

[texpatriot2004]

28. So true eh nm

[Selatius]

29. Bush is "screwn" n/t

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

30. When I heard we won the House, the first word that came into my mind was WAXMAN!!!!

He is going to become the most famous man in America.

BTW...he can start with Halliburton. He gave tons of evidence of fraud over to the GAO already. They just didn't have the power to subpoena, but Waxman will now!!!!!

[NMDemDist2]

43. me too, DH said Pelosi and Conyers but I kept says WAXMAN!

he's the bushit's worst enemy IMO

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

44. Capone was taken down by accountants and Henry is SUPERACCOUNTANT!!!! eom

[Blackhatjack]

31. Increase the size of your staff by 4, delegate and take them all on....n/t

Don't wait, get the funding you need from Pelosi, put out the call for experienced professionals to step in and help, make this a collaborative effort and don't let a one slip by b/c of a lack of manpower and time.

[ms liberty]

32. The appropriate literary phrase here would be...

"an embarrassment of riches"

You can't tell, but I'm doing the happy dance again!

[eppur_se_muova]

33. If he can't decide, does he get one of each ? nt

[bobbolink]

34. Remember to cal his office, and thank him and his staff!

You just KNOW they're getting lots of hate mail right about now.

Let 'em know we appreciate 'em!

Toll free Capitol Hill, ask for Waxman's office:

1-888-355-3588

[Robbien]

35. True. He needs our support

thanks for the reminder

[VeggieTart]

36. Forgive my ignorance, but...

...there are, what, 200 Democrats. Can he not have one committee investigate the 9/11 failure and cover-up, another look into the lies about Iraq and the resultant debacle, another look into Katrina, and so on. Get the biggies first.

Then he can go after the regulatory decisions with the foxes guarding the henhouses. They have two years to do this. It won't be easy, but they can do it.

And if anyone gives Waxman grief, I hope he has the balls to say, look, you spent two years hounding a man over sexual improprieties that didn't affect anyone except the people involved. This is a hell of a lot more serious than a man cheating on his wife. Nobody died when President Clinton lied about that, but thousands of people have died because Bush didn't give proper attention to pre-9/11 threats, lied the country into and subsequently bungled the Iraq war, and bungled beyond belief the response to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. He has former employees of certain industries now in the positions of regulating those industries. He has blown the surplus he was given with his tax cuts for the ultrawealthy and sat by while jobs moved overseas.

We're investigating, and you can either help us find out the truth or be considered an obstructionist.

[bobbolink]

39. "If Anyone gives Waxman grief..."

That's partly why we need to call and write his office, and thank him for what he's doing!

If he can show that he also has broad support of the people of the US, that can also make a difference to him.

Also, his staff will be working very hard, and need to know that we notice and appreciate them.

1-888-355-3588 toll-free Capitol Hill switchboard

[Nikki Stone1]

37. Hey, as long as he starts holding some feet to the fire, I don't care which fire it is

GO HENRY!

[ronnykmarshall]

38. That's MY Congressman!!

:yourock:

[Swamp Rat]

40. Geaux Waxman!!!

[tabasco]

42. Waxie is da man!

He is like a superhero to me. A guy who constantly fights for truth and justice. Except not in the comic books - for real.

California can be very proud of his hard work to expose corruption.