As threatened, the General Accounting Office (GAO), the investigative arm of Congress, announced today it will file an unprecedented lawsuit against the White House seeking to compel Vice President Dick Cheney to turn over information related to the formulation of the Bush administration's national energy policy.

The information sought by the GAO relates to the meetings of the National Energy Policy Development Group (NEPDG), chaired by Vice President Cheney during the spring of 2001. In May of 2001, the NEPDG released President Bush's national energy policy proposal, which has been approved by the House and set to be considered by the Senate later this year.

The information, first formally requested by the GAO in an Aug. 17, 2001 letter from GAO Comptroller General David Walker to Vice President Cheney includes:

• Who was present at each of the group meetings conducted by the NEPDG?
• What are the names of the professional staff assigned to provide support to NEPDG?
• Who did each of the members of the NEPDG (including the Vice President as Chair) and its support staff meet with to gather information for the National Energy Policy, including the date, subject, and location of the meetings?
• What direct and indirect costs were incurred in developing the National Energy Policy?

Vice President Cheney refused to provide the information at the time and was backed in his stance by President Bush.

By early September 2001, GAO had already announced its intention to file suit to get the information, but delayed the action due to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. 

"As I stated last September, prudence dictated that we delay any related legal action given the immediate need for the administration and the Congress to focus on developing our Nation’s initial response to our fight against international terrorism and efforts to protect our homeland," stated GAO Comptroller Walker in a Jan. 30 letter to Congressional leaders.

In the same Jan. 30 letter, Walker announced the suit, writing, "GAO will take the steps necessary to file suit in United States District Court in order to obtain, from the Chair of the NEPDG, [Cheney] the information outlined in our August 17, 2001, report."

While the GAO has not specifically requested information on Enron's part in the deliberations of the energy policy task force, that information would be included, and of Enron, Walker states in his letter, "the recent bankruptcy of Enron has served to increase congressional interest in energy policy, in general, and NEPDG activities, in particular."

Vice President Cheney has acknowledged that he or members of the NEPDG met with Enron representatives on six occasions.

White House spokesman Ari Fleischer stated at a press conference today, that President Bush would hold firm is his opinion that handing over the records would degrade the ability of the White House to obtain advice from outside experts.

Fleischer also stated the the president would not claim executive privilege in order to protect the information, because he believed the GAO simply lacked the statutory authority to request it. "The administration's position, which we expect to be upheld in a court of law, is that the General Accounting Office is acting beyond their authority, outside of statute, so there is no need to exert the privilege," said Fleischer.

On Tuesday, Vice President Cheney said of the then threatened suit, "Their [GAO's] jurisdiction extends to agencies created by statute. That's not me ... I'm a constitutional officer. And the authority of the GAO does not extend in that case to my office."

GAO Comptroller Walker, however, contends that since information from the meetings of the NEPDG was gathered at taxpayers' expense, GAO has both the jurisdiction and authority to demand the information.

Under Title 31- Chapter 7, Subchapter 2, section 712 of the U.S. Code, GAO is granted the authority to:

• (1) investigate all matters related to the receipt,
  disbursement, and use of public money;

• (2) estimate the cost to the United States Government of
  complying with each restriction on expenditures of a specific
  appropriation in a general appropriation law and report each
  estimate to Congress with recommendations the Comptroller General
  considers desirable;

• (3) analyze expenditures of each executive agency the
  Comptroller General believes will help Congress decide whether
  public money has been used and expended economically and
  efficiently;

• (4) make an investigation and report ordered by either House of
  Congress or a committee of Congress having jurisdiction over
  revenue, appropriations, or expenditures; and
  
  
• (5) give a committee of Congress having jurisdiction over
  revenue, appropriations, or expenditures the help and information
  the committee requests.

The General Accounting Office (GAO) is an independent, non-partisan branch of Congress designated to study the programs and expenditures of the federal government. It investigates how taxpayer dollars are spent and reports to Congress and the heads of executive agencies about ways to make government more effective and responsive.