A resolute President Bush may go down swinging as he finishes his term in office. In a recent Rose Garden speech he outlined his plans to combat skyrocketing energy costs by drilling for oil in Alaska, adding more refineries in the U.S. and building more nuclear plants. Those and other Bush proposals have not fared well as the Democrat-majority Congress appeared to be content to wait until after the November elections to act. Bush’s plan for housing reform has been stalled since last August, a climate-warming initiative has been set aside, a free-trade pact with Colombia was crushed and terrorist-surveillance legislation has not been passed by the House. Bush has demonstrated that he can do without Congress (he released $200 million in emergency food aid) and he reiterated his intention to veto legislation that he felt merited that action.
Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW), a government spending watchdog group, named several lawmakers recipients of its 2008 “Oinker” Awards. Rep. Mike Thompson (D-Calif.), who earmarked $211,509 for olive fruit fly research in Paris, earned “The French Kiss Off Award”; House Ways and Means Committee chairman Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.) picked up “The Narcissist Award” for earmarking $1.95 million for the Charles Rangel Center for Public Service; “The Taxpayers Get Teed Off Award” went to House Majority Whip James Clyburn (D-S.C.), who added $3 million to the Defense Appropriations bill for The First Tee Golf Program.
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