Bill Sali responds

BOISE -- U.S. Rep. Bill Sali's absence at House hearings this week where lawmakers grilled financial industry executives on America's financial crisis drew criticism Tuesday from his Democratic challenger Walt Minnick.

Sali, a Republican House Oversight Committee member, countered the hearings on American International Group and bankrupt investment bank Lehman Brothers were politically motivated sideshows that didn't merit attendance.

The committee Tuesday rebuked AIG's former top executives for risky financial transactions and flogged Lehman executives for taking hundreds of millions in pay.

John Foster, a spokesman for Minnick, said of Sali, "Skipping these hearings shows he just doesn't care."

Wayne Hoffman, a spokesman for Sali, called Oversight Committee Chairman Henry Waxman a notorious grandstander.

Sali and Minnick both opposed last week's $700 million government plan to buy mortgage-backed securities that was signed by President Bush.