updated 6/28/2007 7:15:44 PM ET 2007-06-28T23:15:44


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Republicans denounced the proposal as political theater.



‘Undisclosed fourth branch’

"Perhaps the vice president thought he occupied an undisclosed fourth branch of government," Emmanuel said.

The proposal would have withheld about $4.8 million in the budget for the vice president's official residence, his office and for other expenses including the hiring of passenger vehicles and entertainment expenses. He would still have received a smaller budget for his role as president of the Senate.

The latest dispute between the Democratic Congress demanding information from the White House and a vice president with a penchant for secrecy came when Cheney said his office was exempt from sections of a presidential order that executive branch offices provide data on how much material they classify and declassify.

Cheney's office, with backing from the White House, argued that the offices of the president and vice president were exempt from the order because they are not executive branch "agencies."

‘Secrecy over sunshine’
Emanuel, who chairs the House Democratic Caucus, recalled the previous conflict over Cheney's reluctance to reveal details of meetings with oil executives to discuss energy policy. "At every step of the way, he has chosen secrecy over sunshine, obstruction over accountability," Emmanuel said.

"It's not a serious amendment," scoffed Republican Whip Roy Blunt of Missouri. "This amendment is an amendment in search of a press release."

Rep. Ralph Regula, R-Ohio, warned Democrats that "it might come back to haunt you at some time in the future" when a Democrat holds the vice presidency. "Because some members may not like the current vice president, or any future vice president, doesn't mean Congress should use its power of the purse to eliminate funding for the office."

In yet another flashpoint between Democrats and Cheney, Rep. Nick Rahall, D-W.Va., said Thursday that the House Natural Resources Committee panel will hold a hearing into the role Cheney may have played in the 2002 deaths of about 70,000 salmon near the California-Oregon border.

Rahall, chairman of that committee, said Cheney's part in developing a 10-year water plan for the Klamath River, reported Wednesday by The Washington Post , resulted in the largest adult salmon kill in the history of the West.

The Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday issued subpoenas to the offices of President Bush, Cheney and others demanding documents on the warrantless wiretapping program.



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