(CNN) - Two of the first bills passed by the 111th Congress yesterday had less to do with the incoming president than they did with the man he’s replacing.
One measure would amend the Presidential Records Act of 1978 to overturn President Bush’s 2001 executive order that extended the length of time that presidential records can remain sealed.
The other would require full fundraising disclosure for presidential libraries. The lack of an existing requirement became an issue for former President Bill Clinton when his wife Hillary Clinton was tapped to serve as Obama’s secretary of state.
The former president eventually opted to release the full list of donors and the size of their donations.
Both the measures, introduced by House Oversight and Government Reform committee chairman Edolphus Towns of New York, passed by overwhelming majorities.
The bills have the strong support of Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs committee chairman Joe Lieberman, who has publicly called on Bush to make both his records and the full list of contributors to his presidential library open to the public.
Similar efforts, pushed by former Oversight chairman Henry Waxman, drew overwhelming support in the House, but did not make it through the Senate, and did not have the support necessary to override a likely presidential veto.
From CNN Politics
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Well while Congress works on that, I hope the new Justice Department holds Bush, Cheney and Rumsfeld's feet to the fire. These men to be held accountable for their illegal actions.
It's Bills library Not Hillarys. It's Hillarys Job , not Bills. Holding that against Hillary has to be some kind of discrimination and unfair to her or any other woman who would encounter something similar.
Does anyone think maybe the bin-laden family was a donor to Bush's library. I mean they were involved in the Carlyle Group's blind trust together prior to 9/11 which meant that when Osama flew planes into the WTC his family made billions when the US ramped up it's war effort to combat Osama. Could Bush be THAT stupid?
tHIS GOVERMENT FILT WITL LIER CROOK AND SCUMBAGS and look like never stop just gping on going on. bush love drug dealer and hate border patrol..because he like smoke crack
I wish we could undo everything that Bush has done. He has hurt this country more than I would have ever believed possible. I sure wish that he was held accountable for the war and the crimes committed with his approval, along with Cheney and Rumsfield.
tHIS GOVERMENT FILT WITL LIER CROOK AND SCUMBAGS and look like never stop just gping on going on. bush love drug dealer and hate border patrol..because he like smoke crack
GO AWAY MORON SARA.
What a worthless person..... when he goes back to Dallas, they should hang him by his toenails...
Houston is doing Great because we have had a Democrat for 2 terms, now.
How about a bill to impeach this war criminal (along with Cheney, Gonzo and Rummy) as well...
THAT'S RIGHT.... if they can spy on the average American citizen, then they should be forced to be more transparent!!! FIRST BIG STEP in the right direction.
I hope President Obama cleans house and puts EVERYONE ON NOTICE on day one!!!
How did Bush even get away with the many bills he signed in that gave his administration more power and secrecy?
I'm glad they are reversing many of his questionable bills so we can move into a transparent government, but it's 8 years too late.
One measure would amend the Presidential Records Act of 1978 to overturn President Bush’s 2001 executive order that extended the length of time that presidential records can remain sealed.
All I have to say is "Hooray!!!!" Our Presidents shouldn't be allowed to keep secrets from the American public. When records are sealed it sounds to me like they have something to hide. We should have full transparency, and full fundraising disclosure for presidential libraries.
"Similar efforts, pushed by former Oversight chairman Henry Waxman, drew overwhelming support in the House, but did not make it through the Senate, and did not have the support necessary to override a likely presidential veto."
Gee, I wonder why. Could it be that the GOP portion of the Senate at the time was protecting Bush? hmmmm
We also need to know the size of the slush fund that paid Katherine Harris in 2000 and Diebold in 2004 for the right to get Bush hoisted into office. Not to mention, of course, the "hush fee" to Rove to keep it all quiet!!!
signs that the new government might be on the right track? could it be?
so after he leaves they are going to make sure we can see all his lies in a reasonable period of time.. acceptable.. barely
idiots
Ooops, now that the shrub has to show the donors look for every other entry being "Halliburton" for a job well done...
SO WHAT ARE YOU SAYING SANDERBRAND.BUSH IS A GOOD GUY.GET A LIFE WOMAN.POOR EXCUSE OF REPORTER.maybe bush can use you in texas good bye good riddence
Sounds petty on the Democrats part. But it is to be expected.
And let the lib kooks start up with their whole "Now the truth will be revealed" garbage. Just wonder what kind of b.s. they'll come up with when their baseless conspiracy theories are proven as nothing but hot air from the liberal freaks.
Both good for democracy.
Myself and many other intelligent Americans are going to be livid if Obama doesn't repeal some, if not all, of The Patriot Act and Cheney's efforts to run a shadow government out of the Vice Presidency.
@ ray: You missed. Sarah's story is back that-a-way <--
Mr. President will you please answer the call at 3:00 a.m. from the White House? Mr.Obama hasn't a clue and I like my freedom thank you!!
Brilliant, ray. I suppose you wrote it in crayon and had someone else type it into the computer.
I truly respect George W Bush who has fought against terrorists for justice, peace and freedom. Even he already knew that unpopular the Iraq war would make his popularity hit the low. Thanks to Bush's efforts, any how, Americans have safely been in a beautiful land since 9.11, 2001. The history will judge about Bush's efforts.
For anyone that thinks Bush was a great preisdent because no futher attacks like 9/11, please read:
http://www.nydailynews.com/opinions/2009/01/08/2009-01-08_president_bush_saved_us_lives_thats_only.html
Instead of insisting he is great because there have been no more, please realize the first 9/11 occured on his watch and the group that did it, Al Qaeda, is today stronger and more able to carry out attacks today then they were just a few years ago.
Over 4,000 Americans and over 100,000 Iraqis might just disagree about the "safer" part.
Good bye Mr. President, parting is NOT such sweat sorrow, it is just plain SWEET!
How about full disclosure on Election Fundraising !
Please continue to remove Bush's policies as fast as possible!!!
Thank you.
Good for the Congress. Let's hope it's only a beginning of trying to undo the excessive misuse of presidential orders in the last eight years. KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK.
Yawn! If they really want a bill that affects Bush, then enact legislation that any president that commits war crimes shall be denied his retirement benefits, incarcerated, and sent to the Hague for trial as a war criminal. Then they need to add that any so-called ally that commits war crimes will be denied aid of any kind and its leaders prosecuted under war crimes laws–which would effectively end the Israeli genocide of Palestinians.
that is unfair for past every president's record stay in silence....i want stay with this act.
Goofy D people!
Great, we want all the records unsealed so we can really see what a coward Bush was. He's a little man with a little brain.
release all records including obama's birth certificate and bush's!
glad to be rid of bush's failed policies.
one might argue that 9/11 happened to citizens from all countries, and was an attack on capitalism not the USA. One may also argue that these "attacks" were perpetrated by people with a vendetta against the first George Bush and may have only carried it out because of this previous grudge.Ialso put forth once again, and this is not argued by the bush administration, 911 had absolutely NOTHING to do with Iraq, period. Terrorism is described as those keeping you terrorized, to that end I put forth that NO ONE has painted more scary scenarios or played on our fears more than the BUSH administration, and that my friends, IS terrorism.
Create a bill that will allow the sherriff evict him from the White Now.
Bush knew in advance that he would trash our Constitution and wanted to be long gone before these files could be examined. I say we force him to stay stateside until his Administration could be investigated. The American people have a right to know,and should have a chance to take him and Cheney down. A stand by the American people to set an example of the crooked leaders so this will never happen again. EXAMPLE: If a person kills another,shouldn't they be tried in court and if guilty be procecuted to full extent ? OR should we just let them go so they and others can do the same over and over again?
forward is where iam going our 43rd president will be history and our 44th will be the future of this country that we all will have to share their is no need for me to say anything negative or i will become part of the problem we all must stop take a deep breath and look forward and think about what we can do to help our president change the future for the good for all people. mr president elect if their is anything that i can do or say i have and will always be part of the solution not the problem may god send down some blessing because were going to need them.
How about full fundraising disclosures for presdential candidates? Would the Obama supporters care to tell us where the 300 million dollars in unnamed sources came from?
The countdown is on... thank god.
Janet- awesome! I'm right there with you! Paul- you need to read actual facts! It's sad you don't know anything about any other war or numbers! You should compare deaths sense your so worried about it. We have had FAR FAR less wars then any other war in US history! I'm talking about hundreds and thousands less! So before you start spitting out numbers- check the facts my friend!
Al Qaeda is not that strong! Why do you think their all hiding? I've been over there and done that! If you don't know what's REALLY going on over there, then shut your mouth!
Look at OBAMA- already lieing and putting us in more debt! It's funny that people believed we were leaving Iraq and coming home! No, we are going to AFGAHN which is ever more dangerous then Iraq! We spend more money on people jumping the boarders each year then the Iraqi War. 120 Bill- Iraq War 338 Bill- Illigal Immagrents.... interesting fact isn't it?
So Paul- educate yourself!
Janet- awesome! I'm right there with you! Paul- you need to read actual facts! It's sad you don't know anything about any other war or numbers! You should compare deaths sense your so worried about it. We have had FAR FAR less deaths then any other war in US history! I'm talking about hundreds and thousands less! So before you start spitting out numbers- check the facts my friend!
Al Qaeda is not that strong! Why do you think they're all hiding? I've been over there and done that! If you don't know what's REALLY going on over there, then shut your mouth!
Look at OBAMA- already lieing and putting us in more debt! It's funny that people believed we were leaving Iraq and coming home! No, we are going to AFGAHN which is even more dangerous then Iraq! We spend more money on people jumping the boarders each year then the Iraqi War. 120 Bill- Iraq War 338 Bill- Illigal Immagrents…. interesting fact isn't it?
So Paul- educate yourself!
I am absolutely sickened by those delusional individuals like Janet in NY. Osama bin Laden remains free, and two of the worst terrorist attacks in history occurred on Bush's watch.
Just reverse everything that Bush did. He wasted our time and money over the last 8 years. He was a spoiled brat who didn't know how to run the country. He was clueless. Cheney and Rove were running things, until Rove got tired or scared of an investigation. Speaking of which, whatever happened to that?
Boy will it be good to clear the stench of the Bush presidency out of the air, and breath fresh air for a change. Get it, a change.....how refreshing.
Arrest Rove, don't let him off the hook Congress.
Janet- You are an idiot. We are not any safer now than we were before 9/11. All Bush, Cheney, and Rumsfield did successully, was destabilize the entire middle east. We don't have any more oil (which is why we went to war originally), we haven't stopped Al Qeda or found OBL (which is absolutely absurd!), and now Israel and Hamas are going at it.
If you think this war was for peace, justice, and freedom– you need to stop drinking the kool-aid and wake the hell up. We need to hold our leaders accountable– it is widely believed/known that the Bush Administration violated the Constitution many many times, and abused their 'Executive' authority on numerous occasions. If we do not prosecute this criminals to the furthest extent of the law, how can we as a people ever truly have faith in our government, let alone each other, to do the right thing. Bush, Cheney, and Rumsfeld all need to realize that they are NOT above the law– and I can only hope that the Obama administration seeks legal recourse on behalf of the American people.
This Bush guy should be locked up
I think Janet is right i know i'm not going to sway anyone here but the longer we keep looking back in the past the longer it will take for any change to happen.
@German Irish American
certainly we will tell you, and HAVE been telling you.. me I gave $200 and my girfriend gave $200 and my ex wife gave $200 and my oldest sone gave $200 and my daughter gave $200 (my youngest son did not, see he is attending Clemson and could not afford to but he did volunteer his time supporting President (elect) Obama) and so on and so on .... it adds up! I KNOW I KNOW you followers of the liar hillary cannot do math and you members of the radical right think that all that learning and stuff is the devils work and should not be done but the rest of us understand.
idiots
Too bad the congress doesn't demand that Obama release the records of who paid for his trip (in his campaign jet) to Hawaii to visit his sick grandmother.
one might argue that 9/11 happened to citizens from all countries, and was an attack on capitalism not the USA. One may also argue that these "attacks" were perpetrated by people with a vendetta against the first George Bush and may have only carried it out because of this previous grudge.I also put forth, and this is not argued by the bush administration, 911 had absolutely NOTHING to do with Iraq, period. Terrorism is defined as those keeping you frightened to achieve their goals, with that in mind I'd say that NO ONE has painted more frightening scenarios or played on our fears more than the BUSH administration, and that my friends, IS terrorism.
If ya'll think Bush & Cheney are anything other than worthless, greedy, TRAITORS, you have not been paying attention.
Oh wait... you've been paying attention, and only understand what you want to understand.... that's it. "Our Grand Old Party" is faultless, and so is our Noble Leader!
Your kind is what is wrong with this Country.
By the end of 2008, the federal government will have spent more than $800 billion on combat operations.... I think someone else needs a little fact check of their own
Mike: "TWO" terrorist attacks? Where was the second one?
With all of the known crooks getting into the next administration if I were you 'liberals' I would be very careful about hte stones I threw at Bush. At least I would do so without letting people know who I am, the same thing will happen to you that happened after every demo said Carter would save the world. he was a disgrace and you will be too, while the rest of us LOLOLOLO. How soon we forget.
You forgot to include the cost of all the war equipment that was manufactured to fight the two wars, as the equipment for fighting the immigration issue is included in those cost figures. This brings your total War costs well beyond a trillion dollars and that does not include the human toll, which can not be compared to immigration no more than it compares to peanut production on mars, and incidentally is priceless
Good. Bush's rule to seal presidential records is anti-
American.
I would like to know what will go in his Library... we all know he did not read or write much... I guess he will need one file cabinet for all the news paper funnies... minus the crossword puzzle of course. Should be the cheapest library ever built.
Now we have to undo all the damage that this idiot created.
Who would give a donation to this imbecile's library? He has single handedly wrecked our country, he just needs to away... far away.
freddie,
If you really want people to stop and take a breath while reading your comments, then your paragraphs need to contain more punctuation than two periods.
Seriously, Janet, you've already posted that. And you're still delusional.
On topic: totally hot that we can actually have access to all the LIES.
Some like it hot> You need to educate yourSELF. Your spelling is atrocious.
Also, I'm sorry, but military intelligence says that Al Quada has only gained strength since 9/11. Not sure where you are getting your "facts" from. You think they're hiding? It's called planning.
REVERSE EVERYTHING BUSH AND RIGHT WING REPUBLICANS PUT IN PLACE!!!
German,Irish American January 8th, 2009 6:20 pm ET
How about full fundraising disclosures for presdential candidates? Would the Obama supporters care to tell us where the 300 million dollars in unnamed sources came from?
-------------------–
I'm an Obama supporter and I'm willing to tell you where 90 dollars (in several small contributions) of the 300 million dollars in unnamed sources came from – Carol Garceau of WI.
If you did not contribute more than 100 dollars, you were not named as a contributor. This was the first time I ever donated to a campaign and would have liked to contributed more, but my check doesn't seem to go as far as it did 8 years ago when I was making 60 percent less than I do now (due to promotions earned by "pulling myself up by my bootstraps" like Republicans like to say). I am sure there are many, many more supporters out there like me who make up that 300 million.