Thomas Daschle: “the Founding Fathers intended that the legislative process work through strongly held policy differences to establish…”

“the Founding Fathers intended that the legislative process work through strongly held policy differences to establish the law of the land. They saw open dialogue as central to our democracy, and their vision has served the American people well for over 200 years. It is regrettable, therefore, when policy disagreements degenerate into acts of retribution against individual public servants whose only transgression is to execute the directives of the President they serve. That is exactly what happened recently when a provision was inserted into the fiscal year 2001 Agriculture Appropriations Bill stripping the USDA Under Secretary for Natural Resources and Environment, Jim Lyons, of his authority to administer the Forest Service and the Natural Resources Conservation Service until his term in office expires in January 2000. This provision is not only unfair to Mr. Lyons, it undermines the separation of powers doctrine because it is designed solely to intimidate administration officials who are faithful to the policies of the President.”