Union Oversight

(Fox News) - While every enforcement agency in the Labor Department is due for a large budget increase — House Democrats have cut $2 million from the small office of Labor-Management Standards — which tries to ensure union dues are properly spent.

The Wall Street Journal Online reports the agency has helped secure 775 convictions of corrupt union officials since 2001 — and the restitution of $70 million.

But Labor convinced Democrats to reject the president's request for a budget increase for the agency — and instituted the cut instead. And despite a Republican effort to stop the cuts — they were retained — with the help of 16 GOP defectors.