In the Nation

WASHINGTON - Scott McClellan, President Bush's former spokesman, will testify before the House Judiciary Committee about whether Vice President Cheney ordered him to make misleading public statements about the leaking of CIA analyst Valerie Plame Wilson's identity.

McClellan will testify publicly and under oath before the committee June 20 about the White House's role in the leak and its response, his attorneys, Michael and Jane Tigar, said yesterday.

In his new book,

What Happened: Inside the Bush White House and Washington's Culture of Deception

, McClellan said he had been misled by others, possibly including Cheney, about the role of Cheney's then-chief of staff, I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, in the leak.

- AP

WASHINGTON - The Bush administration agreed to give a House committee access to Environmental Protection Agency documents involving regulatory decisions on greenhouse gas emissions.

The House Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming subpoenaed EPA administrator Stephen Johnson on April 3 after the EPA refused on several occasions to provide the information to committee chairman Edward Markey (D., Mass.), a timeline provided by Markey's office says.

"The agreement will allow Congress the right to conduct oversight on important executive decisions," Markey said in a statement.

The documents relate to the EPA's delay in reconsidering regulations for automobile greenhouse-gas emissions as well as health risks of greenhouse gases. Vehicle emissions are blamed in part for global warming. The EPA did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

- Bloomberg News

NEW YORK - The American Civil Liberties Union yesterday announced by far the largest fund-raising campaign in its 88-year history, seeking a dramatic expansion of its work on social-justice issues in relatively conservative states such as Texas and Florida.

The campaign's goal is $335 million, with $258 million already raised through behind-the-scenes solicitations in the last year, ACLU executive director Anthony Romero said. Major donors include billionaire financier George Soros, who gave $12 million through his Open Society Institute.

Romero cited issues such as immigrants' rights, gay rights, police brutality, and opposition to the death penalty as causes that would be pursued vigorously as the ACLU expanded in heartland states.

- AP

Vice President Cheney

, and future vice presidents and their families, would continue to be shielded by the Secret Service for at least six months after leaving office under a bill the House passed by voice vote yesterday. The bill awaits Senate consideration.

The shuttle Discovery's

astronauts wrapped up their chores yesterday at the International Space Station, flexing the robot arm of the newly installed Japanese science lab. The two crews say

sayonara

today, with Discovery heading out first thing tomorrow.