Washington, DC - Today Rep. Peter Welch voted to hold White House officials Harriet Miers and Joshua Bolten in contempt of Congress for refusing to comply with the subpoenas issued by the House Committee on the Judiciary over the firings of U.S. Attorneys. He also voted to authorize initiating judicial proceedings to enforce the congressional subpoenas.

"President Bush needs to dust off his copy of the Constitution. Congress has a constitutional obligation to conduct oversight of the executive branch and we will not shrink from this responsibility. With this action, Congress draws a line in the sand. No president, Democrat or Republican, can ignore the legislative branch of government. The president should stop stonewalling and immediately provide access to information and individuals that will shed light on the potential abuse of power in the firing of U.S. Attorneys."

The contempt resolution, H.Res. 979, and the enforcement resolution, H.Res. 980, both passed the U.S. House this afternoon.