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PULSE OF
CONGRESS
EDITED
and Afghanistan wind down, military leaders and their congressional allies are concerned that competition for federal dollars
will grow.
'This is the only way we can stop the
inexorable slide of national defense," said
Rep. Trent Franks, R-Ariz., a proponent of
the requirement.
In December, Franks and Sen. Elizabeth
Dole, R-N.C., introduced a joint resolution
(H J Res 67, S J Res 26) that would require
the defense base budget to equal4 percent
ofGDP, at a minimum.
Democrats and budget experts criticize the idea as fiscally irresponsible and
Defense continued on page 33
CQ STAFF WRITER
In deciding whether
they will support interrogation limits in the
fiscal 2008 intelligence
authorization bill, moderate Republicans will
look to their front-running presidential candidate for guidance.
However, Sen. John
McCain, R-Ariz., has
not taken a leadership
role on the controversial provision, although McCain did not bring up the interrogation issue at a GOP policy luncheon
he has long denounced Tuesday, and there was no indication he has been lobbying colleagues on it.
and worked against
practices that he considers torture.
debate on the measure Wednesday mornLanguage in the conference report on the
ing. Democratic leaders are courting
1thorization bill (HR 2082) would require
moderate Republicans- such as Maine's
the CIA to follow the Army handbook on
Olympia J. Snowe and Susan Collins and
interrogation tactics. The provision would
Oregon's Gordon H . Smith - to boost
essentially outlaw waterboarding, among
their total to the required 60 votes.
other harsh measures .
"When the intelligence authorization
Senators are scheduled to vote to limit
Intelligence continued on page 32
&
Page32
State Powers
According to the Democratic aide, senators have agreed on the role state attorneys
general should play in assisting CPSC.
The original bill would allow state attorneys general more leverage to sue manufacturers of dangerous goods on behalf
of state residents. Negotiators have since
opted to require that attorneys general follow a federal standard before acting. That
is, a state can sue only if a product does not
meet CPSC standards.
The National Association of Manufacturers had argued that the original provision essentially would have formed 50
mini-CPSCs, leading to inconsistent enforcement of product safety regulations.
Consumer groups say the original pro-
Tim Starks, Greg Vadala, Kathleen Hunter, Patrick Yoest and John M. Donnelly contributed to this story.