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'I'm just a bill'

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, Calif., is trying to force an ethics investigation into a clerical error buried in the text of the just-passed budget cutting bill, charging that the incident is emblematic of the Republican "culture of corruption and incompetence" in Washington.

On February 1, the House passed a measure left over from last year that would trim $39 billion from spending in social programs like Medicare and Medicaid. In December, the legislation had passed the Senate, but only with a tie-breaking vote from Dick Cheney. It cleared the House by a mere two votes over unified Democratic opposition.

But a funny thing happened on the way to the president's desk. A staffer, said to be a Senate clerk, committed what is being characterized as a "typo" that altered the bill. The affected language dealt with the purchase of oxygen devices by Medicare recipients. The subsequent version was sent to the White House for the president's signature.

As most of you who have seen "School House Rock" might recall, the House and Senate have to pass identical versions of a measure in order for it to become law. But since the House did not technically vote on the version that was sent to the White House, many Democrats and outside experts assert that the measure is not valid and needs to be reconsidered by Congress. Lawsuits have been filed.

Republicans, of course, don't want to go through that fight again, since they had so much trouble in getting it done over the course of last year. Some Democrats have agreed with Republicans that the best way to handle it is for Congress to simply declare the measure valid as signed.

Not so Rep. Pelosi. She forced a floor vote this morning on a privileged resolution that would require an ethics investigation. She calls the bill symptomatic of the "ethical cloud" hanging over Congress and that "even my grandchildren know how a bill becomes law." It must be noted that if Pelosi wanted an ethics investigation, she could simply sign out a complaint herself and bring it to the committee, as is the right of any member. Pelosi and her allies allege that Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., knew of the mistake before the president signed the measure, yet allowed it to go forward. A spokesman for Hastert denies the charge.

But Pelosi forced the vote this morning in order to put Republicans on the spot, as well as to bring attention to her campaign to highlight what she regards as Republican "abuse of power." The move was blocked by Republicans, and failed.

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