Latest Capitol battleground: Web pages

Proving that no battle is too small to ignore, House Democrats engaged Republicans in a subcommittee meeting over the majority's policy on posting Web pages.

According to Roll Call, a newspaper that covers Congress, Representative Vic Fazio (D-California) wanted to amend an appropriations bill to move $4 million out of the hands of the office that oversees the House computer resources. The budget scalpel was used to highlight Democrats' dissatisfaction with having access to subcommittee Web pages controlled by Republicans.

The House of Representatives' policy states that each committee controls what is published on their respective pages. Since Republicans control each of the committees, they essentially have control over access and content of the less glamorous subcommittee Web pages that many Democrats have been relegated to.

Fazio was also reportedly upset with the House computer system, saying the email system was not working properly, yet another $85 million for computer and telecommunications projects was being requested. His protest as well as his amendment fell short, as the Appropriations Committee voted to approve the spending bill, which provides for day-to-day operations of the House.