In an interesting turn Rep. Brad Miller of NC. penned a letter to the editor of the Washington Post in which he stands apart from President Obama.
Polifrog found this public move against the leader of the Democrat party by Brad Miller interesting considering Brad Miller's vote for the recent Financial Regulation Bill in which he supported excluding the SEC from public disclosure.President Obama recently threatened to veto the 2011 National Defense Authorization Act because it requires intelligence agencies to allow the Government Accountability Office (GAO), an arm of Congress, access for audits and investigations. The GAO has the resources and expertise needed for effective oversight and knows how to keep secrets.
The president should welcome another set of eyes on the intelligence community.
Under a little-noticed provision of the recently passed financial-reform legislation, the Securities and Exchange Commission no longer has to comply with virtually all requests for information releases from the public, including those filed under the Freedom of Information Act.
On one hand, in the case of the GAO oversight of intelligence agency operations, Brad Miller feels the disclosure of information for the public good is a positive direction for our nation, yet on the other hand Brad Miller supported secrecy for the SEC, an agency intimately involved with reacting to current economic malaise.
Why the duplicity? Why the sudden interest in access to information and openness?
In search of an answer to the question Polifrog leafed through the 2011 National Defense Authorization Act (HR-5136) for an answer. Of course, the answer has nothing to do with Brad Miller's new found penchant for openness.
In section 316 of the 2011 National Defense Authorization Act Polifrog found this noble election year carve out for Brad Miller.
By not later than 180 days after the date of the
6 enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense shall provide
7 the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry
8 with an electronic inventory of all existing documents,
9 records, and electronic data pertaining to the CERCLA
10 listed and RCRA listed contamination sites at Camp
11 Lejeune and all existing documents, records, and electronic
12 data pertaining to the contaminated drinking water
13 at Camp Lejeune.
This is Brad Miller's true agenda. The issue of the contaminated sites in Camp Lejeune and the effects this contamination has had on Marine veterans and their families has been a pet cause for Brad Miller. It is, as suggested earlier, noble, but it was not the reason stated in the Washington Post letter to the editor for Brad Miller's objection to Obama's possible veto of HR-5136. In that letter to the editor Brad Miller objected to a possible Obama veto of HR-5136 on the grounds that "the president should welcome another set of eyes on the intelligence community."
Why couldn't Brad Miller have just argued for the truth? It is a noble truth and one he should be proud of. Instead, Brad Miller chose duplicity in an attempt to cover for his earlier support for secrecy by letting the SEC off the hook in Freedom of Information Act requests.
Brad Miller supports secrecy within government where it counts...his vote, letters to the editor aside.
Brad Miller, Not your parent's Democrat.
out
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