Thorn in the side of GOP says he's just doing his job
Anna Badkhen, James Sterngold, Chronicle Staff Writers
Monday, May 28, 2007 - Washington
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2007/05/28/MNGV7Q2QGK1.DTLHenry Waxman's critics say he is a "Bush-bashing" attack dog obsessed with a partisan vendetta.
His admirers say he is a dogged investigator making up for years of neglect during the six years a Republican-controlled Congress exercised little oversight of a Republican-controlled executive branch.
Whatever his motivations, the 17-term Democratic congressman from Los Angeles has been making life distinctly uncomfortable for the Bush White House.
Since he became chairman of the powerful House Oversight and Government Reform Committee in January, Waxman, 67, has been probing some of the more contentious issues surrounding the administration, including prewar intelligence on Iraq, corruption in postwar reconstruction, White House contacts with convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff, allegations that administration officials used political party e-mail accounts to conduct government business, and the misinformation surrounding the friendly fire death in Afghanistan of former NFL star Pat Tillman.
Last week, Waxman chaired a hearing into the government's often-criticized response to the mental health problems of veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, which he called "an enormous public health threat." To Rep. Patrick McHenry, a North Carolina Republican on the committee, Waxman's "investigative direction and agenda are simply objectionable."
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