Cheney's "lost years" in Congress

We know V.P. Dick Cheney is a small government advocate, so I wonder if that's why he spent his eleven years in congress doing almost nother---except for his rich corporate buddies? And to help keep government small, he voted against anything that would help the middle class or the poor survive. ---BBB

Cheney's "lost years" in Congress

The "Kerry's left of Kennedy" line didn't seem to be getting much traction, so the Bush campaign started, almost immediately after the Democratic convention in Boston, calling Kerry not only liberal but "undistinguished," even using the language -- nervy considering the candidate they're running -- that Kerry had "20 lost years" in the Senate.

This isn't exactly a rapid fire response, but four days into the attack on Kerry's legislative record and experience, the Kerry campaign has turned the tables to look at "Dick Cheney's Legislative Accomplishments … Both of Them …"

In an email to reporters, the campaign quotes Rep. John Spratt (D-SC), ranking member on the House Budget Committee, from a conference call today: "Dick Cheney served in the Congress for 11 years. I served with him for most of these years. In that time, he only passed two bills. One was to build a flood plain on the Colorado River and the other was a bill to help a constituent. What's even more telling about Dick Cheney's record in the House is not what he supported but what he opposed - things like Headstart and funding for seniors. It seems pretty dishonest for Bush and Cheney to be attacking John Kerry -- who passed 57 bills in the Senate -- for his legislative accomplishments."

The email also contained these stats on Cheney's record:

96th Congress: 4 Sponsored; 0 became Law
97th Congress: 4 Sponsored: 0 became Law
98th Congress: 8 Sponsored: 0 became Law
99th Congress: 7 Sponsored: 1 became Law (H.R.1246 : A bill to establish a federally declared floodway for theColorado River below Davis Dam.)
100th Congress: 7 Sponsored: 1 became Law (H.R.712 : A bill for the relief of Lawrence K. Lunt.)
101st Congress: 1 Sponsored: 0 became Law