Bond On Intelligence

Missouri Senator "Kit" Bond was appointed to the Senate Intelligence Committee. Bond will serve as the senior Republican on the committee, replacing Sen. Pat Roberts (R-Kansas) who is moving to the Senate Finance Committee.

Roberts tenure raised the ire of Democrats who accused him of dragging his feet on investigations into intelligence matters, particularly an investigation into how the administration used the intelligence on potential Iraqi weapons programs in the lead up to the invasion of Iraq, the so-called Phase II report.

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Two sizes too small?

In other news from the capital, Republicans blocked a severance package crafted by House Democrats for Republican staffers who will lose their jobs in the transition from the 109th to the 110th Congress. The package would provide up to two months of salary while committee and leadership staffers look for new jobs.

Despite that only Republican staffers will benefit from the bill, Republicans nixed it saying it was a last-minute "dark-of-night" type of bill. "...It is not a precedent we want to set haphazardly," said Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif).

A spokesman said it would be up to the leadership to handle it when the 110th Congress convenes on Jan 31, 2007.