Bush pulls end run with appointments
Circumventing Senate opposition, President Bush signed recess appointments Friday for conservatives Otto Reich as the chief U.S. diplomat in Latin America and Eugene Scalia as the top lawyer for the Labor Department.
Because Bush exercised his authority while Congress was in recess, Reich, a Cuban-American, and Scalia, son of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, will be allowed to serve until Congress recesses again at the end of the year.
Conservatives applauded Bush for bypassing the Senate; Democrats opposed to the pair called Bush's decision regrettable.
President signs industrial cleanup bill
President Bush praised Democratic and Republican cooperation Friday as he signed an environmental cleanup bill that he said proves Congress can step away from political fights and "do what's right for America first."
Bush made a whirlwind morning visit to Conshohocken, Pa., to sign into law a five-year plan to provide up to $250 million a year to states, local governments and Indian tribes to clean up the industrial sites known as brownfields.
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