Giuliani's earnings: $16.1M in 16 months

WASHINGTON — Republican presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani reported a whopping $16.1 million in earned income over the past 16 months, most of it in speaking fees, according to financial documents filed Wednesday.

Democratic hopeful John Edwards reported earned income of $1.25 million, the biggest single source of which was a hedge fund that employed him part time. He and his wife, Elizabeth, reported $29.5 million in assets, including millions invested in the hedge fund, the Fortress Investment Group.

The reports were part of a flurry released Wednesday by the Federal Election Commission. The deadline for filing was Tuesday, though several candidates received 45-day extensions, including Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton and Republicans Mitt Romney, John McCain and Tommy Thompson. Republican Jim Gilmore asked for, and received, a 30-day grace period.

The report from Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., showed a surge of interest in his writings as he drew closer to a presidential bid, earning more than $500,000 in 2006 in royalties for one book and an advance for another. Obama reported assets ranging from $457,000 to $1.14 million, far more modest than most of the other leading candidates.

Bush won't like budget blueprint

Democrats controlling Congress presented a $2.9 trillion budget blueprint Wednesday, ensuring a confrontation with President Bush over spending boosts for education and other domestic programs.

The Democratic plan promises a budget surplus in five years but would achieve it only by allowing some of Bush's tax cuts to expire.

The nonbinding plan for next year faced House and Senate votes today. Democrats agreed to it after weeks of private negotiations.

The most immediate result would clear the way for action this summer on annual spending bills totaling $1.1 trillion for the budget year that begins Oct. 1. A $23 billion increase for domestic-agency budgets awards sizable increases for education, veterans and health-care programs; the White House opposes the increase.

BP files show leaks followed budget cuts

Severe company budget cuts at a time BP was making huge profits put pressure on managers to ignore corrosion protection at the oil company's North Slope pipelines that sprung leaks last year, according to internal company documents.

A House committee investigating the Alaska spills, which forced a partial shutdown of Prudhoe Bay oil production last summer, released a half-dozen e-mails and other documents that showed that anti-corrosion programs repeatedly were targeted for cost cutting, including on the lines that eventually failed.

"BP field managers were being asked to choose between saving money and critical maintenance," said Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the Energy and Commerce investigations subcommittee. He said the cost-cutting from 1999 to 2005 came as the firm made more than $106 billion in profits.

Robert Malone, chairman of BP America, the U.S. subsidiary, acknowledged there were "extreme budget pressures at Prudhoe Bay" because of a sharp decline in production from the North Slope and said he thought that discouraged preventive maintenance.

Seattle Times news services