House Democrats have accused the Bush administration of failing to report a required account of its non-proliferation efforts for the last two years. Congress Daily reported Tuesday House Armed Services Committee ranking member Ike Skelton, D-Mo., and Rep. Ellen Tauscher, D-Calif., sent a letter to President Bush Friday asking for the reports that are required under the 2003 National Defense Authorization Act. The law requires the executive branch to report to Congress on the its plan to secure nuclear materials and expertise from former Soviet states each year, but according to the letter the Bush administration 2003 report and 2004 report, due last week, have yet to be received. "We believe that these reports are a vital tool for Congress to better appreciate and assist the administration in improving U.S. non-proliferation programs," reads the letter. "These programs do a vital job in reducing the threat of weapons of mass destruction. Nonetheless they could be improved if informed by a common non-proliferation plan and held to a uniform set of standards." Bush made nuclear non-proliferation a centerpiece of his 2004 reelection campaign. © Copyright 2005 by United Press International

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