Today both the New York Times and the Los Angeles Times ran stories about the pork-filled emergency supplemental bill that contains Sen. Trent Lott's (R-MS) now infamous "Magic Railroad". Some congressmen and Senators are not happy with the $15 billion worth of extra picnic shoulders thrown into a bill that is intended to provide funds for rebuilding New Orleans, the Gulf Coast, and Iraq. Tim Chapman at the Capitol Report writes that both Mike Pence (R-IN) and Jeff Flake (R-AZ) have called on the President to veto the bill if the extra money is not removed. Pence called the bill a "fruit basket" of unrelated spending. John Spratt (D-SC), the ranking Dem on the House Budget Committee, said, "A lot of these things are desirable, and some are even necessary, but they don't belong in an emergency spending bill."
I haven't been by the Capitol lately but I've heard they're hanging this new sign out front:
Family Favor Factory:
Looks like Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA) has been giving his staffers a bit too much leeway in writing earmarks. USA Today reports on Specter's family affair:
Sen. Arlen Specter obtained a $200,000 grant last year for a Philadelphia foundation represented by the son of one of Specter's top aides,the latest example of how the Pennsylvania Republican has helped clients of lobbyists related to members of his staff. Bill Reynolds, Specter's chief of staff, said an investigation found two lobbyists who sought financial favors and who were related to staff members. Specter has changed his office rules to ban lobbying by staffers' relatives.It's good to see that he's implemented new rules to stop this legal, but highly questionable, behavior from continuing. Continue reading
Democrat Faces FBI Scrutiny:
The senior Democrat who recently stepped down from the Ethics Committee, Alan Mollohan (D-WV), is under scrutiny from the FBI in both West Virginia and Washington for possibly steering federal money to projects that financially benefitted him. Raw Story reports on a Wall Street Journal article that details the new direction of this probe:
Rep. Alan B. Mollohan (D-WV)bought a 300-acre farm with the head of a small defense contractor that had won a $2.1 million contract from funds that the congressman added to a 2005 spending bill last year. The joint purchase of the farm, which sits on the Cheat River in West Virginia, is the most direct tie yet disclosed between Rep. Mollohan and a beneficiary of the federal spending he has steered toward his home state. It raises new questions about possible conflicts of interest by Rep. Mollohan and his use of such spending.For future appropriating congressmen: Don't jointly purchase any property with recipients of your federal earmarks on Cheat River. Continue reading
Rush For Money:
Justin Rood has raked some muck on Rep. Bobby Rush (D-IL), the chief Democratic co-sponsor of the "Kill the Internet" bill. Rood writes, "Rep. Bobby Rush (D-IL), the main Democratic co-sponsor of a controversial bill that would give control of the Internet to big phone companies, is in AT&T's pocket, critics are charging." The charges come in a Chicago Sun-Times article from this morning:
An Englewood community center founded by Rep. Bobby Rush (D-Ill.), a key player on telecommunications legislation, received a $1 million grant from the charitable arm of SBC/AT&T, one of the nation's largest phone companies. ... On Wednesday, the energy and commerce panel on which Rush sits is set to vote on a controversial rewrite of telecommunications law co-sponsored by Rush and backed by major phone companies eager to compete with cable television companies.For more on this bill check out Josh Marshall's post here. UPDATE: My colleague Larry Makinson has more on Bobby Rush down the hall at Dollarocracy. Continue reading
Demonic Possessions:
Last year Katherine Harris shared a $2,800 dinner with bribery contractor and recently convicted felon Mitchell Wade in, what seems to be, violation of House rules. She has claimed that the tab was so high because Wade bought $1,000 bottles of wine and took them home uncorked - the restaurant owner has stated that they do not allow anyone to leave the restaurant with opened wine bottles as it is against the law. Harris has claimed that her portion of the meal cost $100 and she has donated $100 to a charity of her choosing. That charity happens to deliver people from "demonic possessions". From The Ledger of Lakeland, Florida:
The group to which Harris donated $100 is Jacksonville-based Global Dominion Impact Ministries, Harris spokesman Chris Ingram said. A Web site for a group named Global Dominion Impact Ministries based in Jacksonville states that one of the group's founders, pastor Sandra Jones, "has an inspiring testimony of her deliverance from being sold to devils as an infant. She also shares her miraculous healing from her breast cancer as well as being raised from the dead."Continue reading
Sham, Joke, Illusion…Integrity?
Those are all words used to describe the current lobbying reform bill that the House Republicans will bring to the floor for a vote later this week. The Washington Post editorial page slams the bill, giving their editorial the title "Sham Lobbying Reform":
Do you remember, back when the spotlight was on Jack Abramoff, how House Republican leaders pledged to get tough on lobbyists? Well, you may; apparently they don't. The House plans this week to take up the Lobbying Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006, a watered-down sham that would provide little in the way of accountability or transparency. If the Senate-passed measure was a disappointment, the House version is simply a joke -- or, more accurately, a ruse aimed at convincing what the leaders must believe is a doltish public that the House has done something to clean up Washington.USA Today goes the comic route, running side-by-side editorials, one written by Majority Leader John Boehner (R-OH) in support of the bill and the other calling the reform effort a "snow job". Boehner writes:
This week, the House will consider comprehensive changes designed to re-establish the sense of trust between the people and their government by reforming Congress and bringing greater transparency, disclosure and accountability to government. This measure focuses on bright lines of right and wrong and stiffens penalties for breaking the rules. ... Effectively communicating our Republican vision for the future requires that we rebuild trust and change the status quo in Washington. We are committed to restoring that trust and ensuring all members uphold the highest standards of integrity.Running next to Boehner's glowing appraisal is the paper's take on this reform bill:
The sorry record of this Congress cries out for real reform, not a toothless sham. One member has been sent to prison for extorting bribes from lobbyists and favor-seekers. Former House majority leader Tom DeLay is under indictment on political money-laundering charges, two of his former aides have pleaded guilty to corruption charges, and he's quitting because he fears the voters' backlash. At least a half-dozen other members, from both parties, are under investigation by various federal agencies on everything from bribery to insider trading. Not coincidentally, polls show public disillusionment with Congress at the highest levels in more than a decade. This is fueled in part by the lobbying and corruption scandals that show special interests and self-interest trumping the public interest. If the self-righteous incumbents can't do better than this outrageous substitute for needed reform, they will deserve to be defeated in November.Passing this so-called reform bill would be like lighting a match in the caves of Lascaux, when a spotlight is needed to see what's around you. Continue reading
Mr. Barbour Goes (Back) To Washington:
Tim Chapman at Porkbusters writes that good ole boy ex-lobbyist and Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour (R) is off to Washington to fight for Trent Lott's Magic Railroad:
Barbour, the former RNC Chairman and top DC lobbyist turned Governor is rumored to make an appearance tomorrow at the weekly Senate Republican policy lunch. The Governor is in town to provide much needed support to his Mississippi Senators Thad Cochran and Trent Lott, who are both under fire for securing the largest earmark ever.
I believe that Barbour will use this image to show other members of Congress the merits of the railroad.
Afternoon News:
- The Denver Post reports on the all-out ethics war in Colorado.
- Campaign contributors have become a point of attack in Maryland, according to the Balitmore Sun.
- Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius (D) is being investigated by the state ethics commission for possible illegal solicitation of campaign contributions from lobbyists. Continue reading
RISDY Damaged in Hurricane Katrina?
Why is the Rhode Island School of Design getting federal dollars from an emergency spending bill aimed at repairing damage in the Hurricane Katrina ravaged Gulf Coast? The Washington Times looks at the issue:
A supplemental spending bill for the war in Iraq and hurricane recovery passed the House of Representatives last month calling for $92 billion in federal spending. The Senate added $14 billion for hurricane relief, and another $10 billion in unrelated spending in amendments to be debated when Congress returns this week. Because of the differences in the two spending packages, the bill then will go to a conference committee before final votes in both chambers.Sen. Judd Gregg (R-NH) and Rep. Jeff Flake (R-AZ) are two lawmakers that are outraged by the unrelated spending. Flake provides his interpretation: ""Unfortunately, too many members of Congress have gotten into the practice of responding to a disaster not by asking 'What can I do to help?' but instead asking 'What's in it for me?'?" Meanwhile, Think Progress has the story on one of these unnecessary earmarks added by Mississippi Senator Thad Cochran (R). Continue reading
House Just Says No to Reform:
The House has amended the lobbying and ethics reform bill currently under consideration and in the process turned it into a hollow shell. According to USA Today, the bill will not change gift giving policies, it will not change enforcement methods, it will not extend the lobbying ban by former members, and it only bans private travel until after the midterm elections. The Jack Abramoff scandal and the Duke Cunningham scandal have exposed serious flaws in the political/lobbying system in Washington and the House believes that they can do nothing about it. The bills supposed positive aspect is more disclosure however the House "dropped requirements that lobbyists specify which lawmakers and aides they have contacted; disclose their sponsorship of lavish parties for lawmakers at political conventions; and report their fundraising for candidates for federal office." The Majority Leader John Boehner (R-OH) says that the bill will "rebuild the trust between Congress and the American public," although I can't see how.
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