It may sound far-fetched, but several House Republicans say an executive order signed by President Clinton (search) in 2000 could pave the way for such an ill-conceived scenario. They laud efforts by Istook to start chipping away at what they say are federal mandates that could eventually tear the country apart.

"It's just a small way towards addressing the problem," said Mica Swafford, spokeswoman for Istook, who is the chairman of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Treasury and Independent Agencies (search).

Istook included in the fiscal year 2004 Transportation and Treasury spending bill a measure that would ...