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Washington in briefCompiled from Times wires© St. Petersburg Times published October 30, 2002 Bush signs nationwide reforms for votingWASHINGTON -- President Bush signed a bill on Tuesday to clean up the nation's election procedures. The measure sets minimum federal standards intended to prevent a repetition of the ballot disputes that cast a cloud over his election two years ago. "When problems arise in the administration of elections, we have a responsibility to fix them," said Bush, who made no mention of the 2000 election. But a dispute immediately erupted as Republicans and Democrats offered conflicting interpretations of the law -- in particular, a provision that requires first-time voters who register by mail to present identification at the polls. The law authorizes $3.9-billion of federal spending in the next three years to help states replace punch card and lever voting machines, to train poll workers and to establish computerized statewide lists of registered voters. Congress has not formally appropriated the money, but sponsors of the legislation said they believed it would do so. Most provisions take effect in 2003 and 2004. Veterans' suit: Washington covered up perilous testsA veterans advocacy group and 21 former servicemen who unknowingly were exposed to dangerous chemicals and biological toxins during secret Cold War tests filed a class-action lawsuit Tuesday claiming a government coverup. The Navy veterans, along with the Vietnam Veterans of America, named as a defendant former Defense Secretary Robert McNamara, who served under Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson. They allege McNamara "conceived a program of biological and chemical warfare experiments" in the 1960s. Administration says it's reviewing Cheney papersSeven days before a court-imposed deadline, the Bush administration said Tuesday that it has fully reviewed only two out of 12 boxes of documents at issue in lawsuits over Vice President Dick Cheney's energy task force. In a three-page court filing, the administration said it also is sorting through 10,000 e-mails to find several thousand messages about the Cheney panel. Two private groups are suing because the Bush administration refuses to release any documents about the energy plan it drafted last year.
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From the Times wire desk
From the AP |
