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Pelosi's squad

With the fall elections little more than two months away, House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi yesterday announced the formation of what she called a "Truth Squad," manned by some of her party's most partisan House members.

The Democrats' "Waste, Fraud and Abuse Truth Squad" will be chaired by California Reps. Henry A. Waxman and Dennis Cardoza. Mrs. Pelosi said the Truth Squad will focus on the Bush administration's mishandling of taxpayer dollars, which, she added, contributed to budget deficits.

"The alarming amount of waste, fraud and abuse by the Bush administration and the rubber-stamp Republican Congress is egregious," Mrs. Pelosi said. "Democrats are committed to a new direction in the way our government does business so taxpayers' money is handled responsibly."

The group immediately released a report on what it called wasteful procurement spending in response to Hurricane Katrina. Other members of the Truth Squad are David R. Obey of Wisconsin, John Tanner of Tennessee, D.C. Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton, and John F. Tierney of Massachusetts.

Not forced out

David Wallace says Republican officials did not force him to end his write-in candidacy for the open 22nd District House seat vacated by former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay.

"There is no way that two write-in candidates could win. It would be very difficult and divisive to the Republican Party," said Mr. Wallace, the mayor of Sugar Land, a Houston suburb.

Last week, local Republican leaders voted to support Houston City Councilwoman Shelley Sekula-Gibbs as a write-in candidate. Mr. Wallace said that the national Republican Party was willing to commit $3 million to the race for Mr. DeLay's old seat, but only if there was one Republican write-in candidate, the Associated Press reports.