Where's the Oversight Board?
by TChris
The LA Times calls attention to another of the Bush administration's unkept promises.
Initially proposed by the bipartisan commission that investigated the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board was created by the intelligence overhaul that President Bush signed into law in December 2004.
More than a year later, it exists only on paper.
Foot-dragging, debate over its budget and powers, and concern over the qualifications of some of its members -- one was treasurer of Bush's first campaign for Texas governor -- has kept the board from doing a single day of work.
What's taking so long?
"They have stalled in giving the board adequate funding. They have stalled in making appointments," said Rep. Carolyn B. Maloney (D-N.Y.). "It is apparent they are not taking this seriously."
The members were selected last year, but the board can't function without a chairman, and it took the Bush administration several months to submit the president's choice (Bush family friend Carol Dinkins) for Senate approval. The president hasn't expressly budgeted funding for the board in 2007. Do you get the sense that the Bush administration isn't eager to experience meaningful oversight?
| < Gas Up | A Protest in Oakland > |
