Here's another timely reminder that, though the 109th Congress is on its way out the door, the inattention to ethics of its members will remain a subject well into the 110th. The Los Angeles Times reports on official actions and personal enrichment, in which a member of Congress makes something more than a cameo appearance:
With community activists packed into the Monrovia Community Center one winter night in 2000, U.S. Rep. Gary Miller (R-Diamond Bar) implored City Council members to purchase 165 acres he owned in the foothills and turn the land into a wilderness preserve. Continue reading
The Good Earmark
Here's a transparency debate for everyone to have: The Iraq Study Group was created by an earmark inserted into a spending bill by Rep. Frank Wolf (R-Va.). Why did he choose the secretive earmarking process to create this important panel?
“The fact is that there were members of Congress who would have opposed it,” Mr. Wolf said. “Should I have allowed that to stop me from doing what was in the best interest of the country?”
Discuss.
Continue readingWebb Hires Lobbyist to Navigate Washington
What caught my eye in this morning's Washington Post puff piece on just how much of a maverick Senator-elect James Webb will be was the tidbit that he's hired Paul J. Reagan, a registered lobbyist and former staffer for Rep. Jim "earmark the s--- out of it" Moran. The McGuire Woods LLP bio of Reagan tells us, "In addition to managing Moran’s staff and offices, Paul also handled press and coordinated appropriations issues." (emphasis added.) Reagan's new job with Webb will be to "help his boss navigate the intricacies of Washington and Capitol Hill without losing the essence of his personality," as the Post's Michael D. Shear effervescently puts it.
Continue readingStill Exposing Earmarks
Michael Petrelis may be a little late to the exposing earmarks party that we at Sunlight were part of last summer, but he asks exactly the kinds of thoughtful questions that any constituent, as part of his citizen oversight duties, should get answered from a representative in Congress. Petrelis is asking them of Rep. Nancy Pelosi, the soon-to-be House Speaker--it will be interesting to see how quickly, and thoroughly, she responds.
Continue readingUnder Investigation Watch: Do They Really Care About Earmarks?
If there was ever a test case for whether voters cared about the abusive earmarking practice than the race in WV-01 would be it. This year Rep. Alan Mollohan found himself the subject of a federal investigation into his use of earmarks to create a series of nonprofits headed by his real estate partners. Mollohan, like other West Virginians sent off to Washington, is a prolific earmarker and has created an entire technology corridor -- this technology corridor being the reason for the investigation -- in northern West Virginia through earmarks. But will voters punish Mollohan for his earmarking or do they see his perch on the Appropriations Committee as a means of attracting money and jobs to a seriously depressed state economy.
Continue readingUnder Investigation Watch: Piling On Curt Weldon
Rep. Curt Weldon can’t seem to catch a break. First, he found out that he was under federal investigation after his lobbyist daughter and her client, Itera, had their offices raided by the FBI. Then, to much ridicule, he attempted to blame the entire FBI raid on a liberal conspiracy involving Bill Clinton, Sandy Berger, and Jamie Gorelick. Now the Philadelphia Inquirer and the New York Times have decided to pile on with stories that are textbook examples of what is wrong with Washington. They describe an Italian defense contractor fêting Weldon at a five-star hotel in Italy and a $2 million earmark to another defense contractor, Dynamic Defense Materials.
Continue readingKudos to USAToday! Now Let’s See That Lobbyist List…
USA Today, and its reporters Matt Kelley and Peter Eisler, have an astounding story out that today that really advances our knowledge of the extent of insiderism on Capitol Hill, and how Congress really has become a family business. And as you read the next few paragraphs, remember that they looked at two committees--JUST TWO COMMITTEES--the House and Senate Appropriations Committees--to get their totals. Think what we'll turn up when we've done the whole Congress!
Members of Congress and their staffs are barred from using their positions for personal profit. But their spouses and other relatives can — and often do — cash in when lawmakers spend taxpayer dollars. Continue reading
Congress Facts: Earmark Electioneering
As a new feature here at Sunlight we're offering up Congress Facts, a monthly list of stats and facts on a particularly pressing issue in Congress. This month is focused on earmarking, in particular the use of earmarks as an election year strategy. Just take a look at the numbers from the competitive districts in Indiana and tell us what you think. If you've got a stat or fact in relation to earmarking feel free to add it in the comments. Go below the fold for more:
When It Comes to Pork, Suspension of the Rules Means Just That
So, on Sept. 14, the House passed a rule that aimed to bring some transparency to the earmarking process: Members names would have to be attached to the earmarks they sponsored. While the goal is worthy, it seemed to me that this particular rule was fairly modest at best, and potentially even counterproductive; since then, we've learned just how modest a reform the rules change is--it doesn't apply to earmarks already inserted in 10 of the big appropriations bills.
Continue readingBridges to Nowhere Update
I've noted before that the original bete noir of the anti-earmark movement, the Alaska Bridges to Nowhere, were alive and well and still receiving federal funding. Today Matt Volz of the Associated Press reports that in May 2006, the Alaska state legislature approved spending $93 million in federal money on the Knik Arm Bridge (the official site for the bridge authority is here), and then, a month later, the board of the bridge authority voted, in a closed-door meeting--some fairly large pay raises for its top executives:
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