The Daily Background

Wow, the Republican-dominated House Intelligence Committee sure has been acting like assholes lately. Associated Press reports:

The House Intelligence Committee on Thursday rejected a proposal to withhold money from the National Security Agency if the White House did not reveal information about the cost of the agency’s warrantless surveillance program.

In a session closed to reporters, only Rep. Heather Wilson (news, bio, voting record), R-N.M., who heads a subcommittee that oversees the NSA, voted with the Democrats to support the measure to hold back one-fifth of the agency’s budget.

The committee also rejected legislation that would force the Bush administration to carve out $3 million for a board created in late 2004 to protect Americans’ civil liberties from government infringements. Democrats have complained for months about what they consider to be Republican foot-dragging in establishing the civil liberties panel, formally known as the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board.

Apparently, even members of Congress don’t have the right to know how much of our tax money is going to the NSA to spy on Americans in the President’s unconstitutional domestic spying program. And this business on the Civil Liberties board is outrageous. November can’t come soon enough. Full article.

Filed under: Tax Money, NSA Wiretaps, Z-TDB Blog