The other Woodward-inspired scandal, aside from the Bush-Bandar deal, is siphoning off $700 million appropriated for the war in Afghanistan and using it instead for Iraq.
For his part, Woodward may not care much for the Bandar scandal, but he seems to think the $700 million story is the one with juice.
“[Administration officials] get the money from a supplemental appropriation for the Afghan War, which Congress has approved. …Some people are gonna look at a document called the Constitution which says that no money will be drawn from the treasury unless appropriated by Congress. Congress was totally in the dark on this.”
Moreover, as I mentioned yesterday, Woodward was on the Today Show yesterday, adding:
“As one of the top White House people involved in this said to me, ‘We didn’t want to disturb the karma of Congress.’ Congress got had.”
So, this is a more straightforward, clear-cut scandal. Did the White House take money allotted for one purpose and spend it on something else without congressional approval? As the Center for American Progress noted today:
The Emergency Supplemental Act passed on 9/14/01 specifically instructs the president to “consult with the chairmen and ranking minority members of the Committees on Appropriations prior to the transfer” of any funds.
At this point, there’s nothing to suggest the White House did “consult” with its co-equal branch of government. And a few Dem lawmakers are already beginning to stir the pot.
Rep. David Obey (D-Wis.), for example, is demanding more information.
I find the Woodward revelations to be disturbing. Four days after 9-11, Appropriations Committee Chairman Bill Young and I pushed through Congress a $40 billion emergency appropriations bill to respond to al Qaeda and the damage they created. The Administration asked for a total blank check-unlimited funding for an unlimited time. We refused, but did give them unprecedented flexibility with the assurance that they would keep Congress plugged into what they were doing.
But, if Mr. Woodward’s book is accurate, it is clear that once again the Administration has declined to cooperate with those who are trying to cooperate with them. The Administration owes Congress a full, detailed and immediate accounting.
Keep in mind, the appropriations bill required the administration to “consult with the…ranking minority members of the Committees on Appropriations prior to the transfer.” David Obey is the ranking Dem member of the Committees on Appropriations — and he doesn’t appear to have been consulted.
Likewise, the 2002 supplemental appropriations bill, which permitted the administration to transfer up to $275 million in unused Pentagon funds, (which is a whole lot less than $700 million) also required the White House to notify Congress within 15 days of the transfer.
If the administration followed this provision of the legislation, it should be pretty easy to release the document in which Congress was notified, thus debunking the concern. As of now, the administration hasn’t provided any such information.
Stay tuned.