In Battle Over Classified Data, Democrats Move To Cut Cheney Funds
This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.
WASHINGTON — Senate Democrats moved yesterday to cut off funding for Vice President Cheney’s office in a continuing battle over whether he must comply with national security disclosure rules.
A Senate appropriations panel chaired by Senator Durbin, a Democrat of Illinois, refused to fund $4.8 million in the vice president’s budget until Mr. Cheney’s office complies with parts of an executive order governing its handling of classified information.
At issue is a requirement that executive branch offices provide data on how much material they classify and declassify. That information is to be provided to the Information Security Oversight Office at The National Archives. Mr. Cheney’s office, with backing from the White House, argues that the offices of the president and vice president are exempt from the order because they are not executive branch “agencies.” The funding cut came as the appropriations panel approved 5–4 along party lines a measure funding White House operations, the Treasury Department and many smaller agencies.
Mr. Durbin, the no. 2 Democrat in the Senate, said Mr. Cheney’s office was flouting requirements that it comply with the reporting requirements on classified information.
