For six years, the Republican-led Congress provided very little oversight of the Bush Administration. Countless questionable decisions made by various Executive Branch officials have gone largely unchallenged by the Legislative Branch, which is structured under our Constitution to provide an essential balance of power within our government.

            With the election of a Democratic Congress in 2006 , this period of lax congressional oversight has ended . During the first several months of this session of Congress, numerous congressional hearings have been conducted into irregularities and potentially illegal actions of members of the Bush Administration, exposing elements of corruption, improper secrecy , poor management and misuses of power. We have sought information from the Administration about its efforts to purge United States Attorneys for political reasons and to compel American telecommunications firms to break privacy laws , conducting espionage against U.S. citizens. In these and other inquiries, the Bush Administration has attempted to obstruct the process of providing information to congressional committees , resulting in contempt of Congress citations issued by committees in the House and Senate.

            I do not consider this to be a partisan issue: the elected Representatives in Congress have a legitimate and essential oversight role in our system of government, and we have taken this responsibility very seriously.  As the new Chairman of the Interior and Environment Appropriations Subcommittee, I am proud that my subcommittee conducted substantially more oversight hearings this year than at any time in the last decade. A number of serious issues were explored at these hearings regarding the actions of the Environmental Protection Agency, the leadership at the Smithsonian Institution, improper levels of Forest Service funding and deficiencies in our National Parks. My subcommittee's first legislative initiative included steps to provide enhanced internal controls at these agencies and for more stringent reporting requirements. Other Democratic leaders have taken similar action on issues under their jurisdiction.

           This fall, a privileged resolution was submitted to the House that would have immediately impeached Vice President Dick Cheney, sending several articles to the Senate to consider which, if approved by that body, would have led to the Vice President's removal from office. While several members from both parties sought to table (dismiss) the resolution immediately , I did not support this "motion to table ." The charges made in the resolution, although contentious, were very serious, and therefore it was my judgment that a complete explanation of the charges to the full membership of the House was the proper course of action.

At the same time, I believe that an impeachment proceeding should not be conducted on the floor of the House with no investigation, no hearings and no opportunity for the Vice President and his supporters to counter the accusations made in the resolution. For this reason, I voted in favor of referring the resolution to the House Judiciary Committee so that there will be an opportunity for this very serious matter to proceed.

           I appreciate the concerns you have raised. Please be assured that I will continue to work with my colleagues in Congress to assert the proper level of legislative branch oversight and direction of an Administration that has clearly gone awry.