Cheney Vows Cooperation With Congress

WASHINGTON — Vice President Dick Cheney told the Senate Judiciary Committee chairman Thursday that he was willing to work with Congress on new rules governing the administration’s anti-terrorism eavesdropping program.

But Cheney stopped short of promising any action as he responded to a terse letter from Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) the day before. Cheney said a final decision on any bill would be up to the president.

Specter had complained that the vice president was trying to meddle in the committee’s actions regarding its review of the domestic surveillance operations. Specter was trying to force telephone company executives to testify about their role in the monitoring.

Cheney said the conversations that he and at least one other senior administration official had with senators about the committee’s review were part of “government at work.”