A Senate committe finally figures out how to challenge Bush

You would think that senators would have figured this out during Civics 101, but apparently not.

So, here is a refresher -- the Congress appropriates money. For every federal agency. Even the CIA. No, the CIA does not get to print its own money.

So it was amazing when the Senate Intelligence Committee finally figured out how to get the CIA to give it the information it wants -- withhold money.

Specifically, a provision of the new FY2008 intelligence authorization bill would prohibit expenditure of certain funds for an unidentified classified program unless and until every member of the oversight committees is briefed on intelligence about the September 6, 2007 Israeli strike on a Syrian facility.

Imagine that. If the CIA wants money for Program X, then they have to cooperate on Request Y.

Seems pretty simple, but apparently some members of the committee had forgotten about that thing called "the power of the purse."

A former staffer explained how they were reminded:

The former staffer pointed to testimony last month by former Rep. Lee Hamilton at a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing in which he stressed the use of financial incentives to induce intelligence agencies to submit to oversight:

"Okay, they don't share information. What do you do about it? You've only got one tool: 'If you don't give us this information, you're not going to get the money.' That's it," Mr. Hamilton told the Committee on November 13.

The scales seemed to fall from the members' eyes.

"I think you've given us a game-changing scenario," replied Sen. Kit Bond (R- MO) at the hearing.

Now, to me, this is like a Major League baseball pitcher suddenly being introduced to the curve ball -- "Wow. Where did that pitch come from?"

Or a school board member suddenly realizing that they can fire an incompetent school principal.

Kit Bond seems to have had an eye-opening experience. I guess six years of rubber-stamping will indeed dull the senses.

So that begs the question -- what is the program that won't be funded if the CIA doesn't cough up the requested info?

Who knows? But Wired has a guess:

Anyone care to guess what the secret program is?  I'm betting satellite.