The list of names of industry officials who consulted with the panel has the potential to embarrass an administration that has included a number of top officials with ties to the industry, including Mr. Cheney, a former chief executive of Halliburton.
The head of the General Accounting Office sent a strong signal today that he was prepared to go to court to force the White House to turn over the names of industry executives who advised Vice President Dick Cheney on national energy policy last spring.
Also, the head of the General Accounting Office signaled he was prepared to go to court to force Vice President Dick Cheney to turn over the names of industry executives who advised him on national energy policy.
The senators made their request a week after the General Accounting Office, the investigative arm of Congress, sued Vice President Dick Cheney to try to force the White House to release the names of industry executives who helped develop the administration's energy policy.
Representative Henry A. Waxman, Democrat of California, who has tangled with the Bush administration over its refusal to reveal the names of industry officials who advised a White House energy task force, raised some concerns about the potential for abuse in Mr. Ridge's idea for special employees.
But it is impossible to know how and why the task force endorsed most of those proposals, and which corporations they help, because Mr. Cheney has steadfastly refused to release the names of industry executives who advised the energy task force as it was researching and compiling its report.
An article on Monday about Syria's new cabinet misstated the given name of the industry minister.
Correction: January 23 , 2002 Wednesday An article on Monday about Syria's new cabinet misstated the given name of the industry minister.
