Powerful Democrat (Murtha) Agrees to Block Disclosure of Intell Budget [View All]

[Hissyspit]

Source: Raw Story

Powerful Democrat agrees to block disclosure of intelligence budget
John Byrne
Published: Tuesday August 7, 2007

Murtha accepts amendment to mask budget without debate

Chairman of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense John Murtha (D-PA) has moved to block a provision President Bush signed into law making the national intelligence budget public.

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Passed by Congress last month and signed into law last Friday, "Implementing Recommendations of the 9/11 Commission Act of 2007," called for the disclosure of the national intelligence budget. If adopted, it would make the first time the legislative branch has compelled the executive branch to reveal currently classified information, Aftergood say.

Only it now appears that a powerful member of the party challenging Bush Administration secrecy -- the Democrats -- will move to keep the figures under wraps. After California Republican Rep. Darrell Issa offered an amendment to the Defense Appropriations Act Aug 5 that would prohibit budget disclosure, Rep. John Murtha (D-PA) announced the amendment was accepted -- without any debate.

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"The opposing view," according to Aftergood, "adopted by the 9/11 Commission and endorsed by Congress last month, is that budget disclosure is an indispensable precondition to broader accountability and that it is essential to restoring the credibility of a defective classification system."

Read more: http://rawstory.com/news/2007/Powerful_Democrat_agrees_to_block_disclosure_0807.html