President's signing statements examined

WASHINGTON — New House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers, D-Mich., used his first oversight hearing Wednesday to say he's starting an investigation into President Bush's possible abuse of presidential signing statements.

Democrats and some Republican lawmakers have accused Bush of conducting an imperial presidency by using bill-signing statements to declare that he'll interpret legislative provisions his way and will feel free to ignore some terms.

Though some influential Republicans, such as Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., have railed against Bush's signing statements, several House Judiciary Committee Republicans balked Wednesday, describing Conyers' hearing as political fishing expeditions.

Some legal experts disagree, saying Bush's assertion of this arguable executive authority undercuts Congress and enhances the power of the president beyond the limits set by the Constitution.

Bush has issued 147 signing statements, according to Specter, the ranking Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Reporter says Rove told him about Plame

White House adviser Karl Rove told a reporter that an administration critic's wife worked at the CIA, days before her name was made public, the reporter testified Wednesday.

Vice-presidential aide I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby then confirmed Valerie Plame's CIA status a day later during an "off-the-record" conversation, former Time magazine reporter Matt Cooper said.

Cooper was the first prosecution witness in the trial to support a specific charge against Libby: that he lied when he told grand jurors he did not confirm Plame's identity when he talked to Cooper.

Libby is being tried for perjury and obstruction of justice during the investigation into who leaked the identity of Plame, a covert CIA operative.

Libby told investigators he first learned of Plame's identity on July 10, 2003, during a talk with NBC reporter Tim Russert. Seven previous prosecution witnesses testified they discussed Plame's CIA status with Libby days or weeks earlier.

Federal food-safety programs criticized

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) on Wednesday added food safety to its list of critically flawed federal programs, saying splintered jurisdiction among 15 agencies has left the United States vulnerable to outbreaks of food-borne illness or, worse, a terrorist attack.

Meanwhile, a senior administration official said President Bush would seek an increase of about $11 million for food safety in the fiscal 2008 budget he is scheduled to release Monday. Much of the money would be aimed at reducing the risk from produce outbreaks, such as the E. coli-contaminated California spinach that caused three deaths and sickened more than 200 last fall.

The GAO, the nonpartisan investigative arm of Congress, said it added food safety to its so-called "high-risk" list of federal programs because the system is out-of-date, often unscientific and lacks accountability.

House approves $463.5B spending bill

The House, in a 286-140 vote, passed a $463.5 billion spending bill Wednesday that covers about one-sixth of the federal budget.

Democrats said the legislation would increase spending on education, veterans, health research and grants to state and local law-enforcement agencies. Among the trade-offs were cuts to President Bush's budget requests for NASA, foreign aid and aid for communities affected by the latest round of military-base closings.

The measure heads to the Senate, which is expected to pass it before a Feb. 15 deadline to avoid a partial government shutdown. Bush has signaled he would sign the bill.

All members of the Washington delegation voted for the bill, except Democrat Jim McDermott, who did not vote.

Also

The Bush administration Wednesday proposed ending farm subsidies for an estimated 80,000 wealthy individuals as part of a broad plan that would close loopholes and cut traditional farm programs by $4.5 billion over 10 years. Anyone making more than $200,000 in adjusted gross income would be cut off from farm payments under the plan.

Seattle Times news services