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Democracy 21 Press Release, October 19, 2006, www.democracy21.org
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NOTHING: That's What Congress Did to Respond to the
Worst Congressional Corruption Scandals in Three Decades

The current Congress has been dominated by corruption and lobbying scandals, the worst in three decades. Examples of these corrosive scandals, and the criminal investigations which continue to unfold, include the following:

-- One former member of the House, Representative Randy ''Duke'' Cunningham (R-CA), sits in jail, convicted of bribery;

-- A second House Member, Representative Robert Ney (R-OH), has pled guilty to criminal corruption charges and is awaiting sentencing. Ney admitted in his guilty plea that he received campaign contributions, trips, meals and tickets to sporting events in return for undertaking official actions;

-- A third House Member, former Representative Tom DeLay (R-TX), is under criminal indictment in Texas for violations of Texas state campaign finance laws, and reportedly may be under investigation by the Justice Department as a central figure in the Jack Abramoff scandals;

-- A fourth House Member, Representative William Jefferson (D-LA), reportedly is under criminal investigation for bribery, having been found with $90,000 in cash in his freezer. Two individuals have pled guilty to charges of bribing Representative Jefferson;

-- A fifth House Member, Representative Curt Weldon (R-PA), reportedly is being investigated by the FBI to determine whether he illegally used his influence to secure lobbying and consulting contracts for his daughter;

-- A sixth House member, Representative Alan Mollohan (D-WV), reportedly is being investigated by the FBI in connection with his real estate interests, nonprofit groups he founded and federal earmarks he provided to the nonprofits.

-- Members of Congress, current and former congressional spouses, and former House staff members reportedly are involved in the ongoing criminal investigation being conducted by the Public Integrity Section of the Justice Department into the Abramoff lobbying scandals;

-- Members of Congress reportedly are involved in a criminal investigation being conducted by U.S. Attorneys' offices in California into their roles in earmarking federal funds for private interests, in the aftermath of the Cunningham bribery conviction;

-- Washington lobbyist Jack Abramoff pled guilty to corrupt practices, including conspiracy to bribe public officials, and agreed to provide evidence about members of Congress and congressional staff members; and

-- Four former House staff members have pled guilty to criminal activities they undertook in connection with the Abramoff lobbying scandals and the Jefferson bribery investigation.

This list of corruption scandals does not include another recently revealed scandal that involved improper communications with House pages by former Representative Mark Foley (R-FL). This scandal resulted in Foley's resignation from the House last month and in an investigation currently being conducted by the House Ethics Committee to determine whether efforts were made by House Members and House staff to cover up Foley's activities.

''The congressional corruption scandals deeply concern the American people,'' said Democracy 21 President Fred Wertheimer. ''According to a poll released last week by USA Today/Gallup, corruption in government tied with the situation in Iraq as the top issue for voters in the 2006 congressional elections,'' Wertheimer noted.

In the USA Today/Gallup poll, the issue of corruption in government was cited by citizens as more important to their vote in the 2006 congressional elections than terrorism, health care, the economy, moral standards in the country and gas prices.

Yet, according to Wertheimer, ''This Congress has done nothing to address the lobbying problems, nothing to address the ethics problems, nothing to address the campaign finance problems, and nothing to address the ethics enforcement problems that have been exposed by all of the congressional corruption scandals.''

''Instead, a combination of greed, arrogance and blindness to public concerns has resulted in Congress deciding to maintain the corrupt status quo rather than give up the lucrative financial perks and benefits from lobbyists and other influence-seekers to which Members have become addicted,'' Wertheimer stated.

For example, a sham lobbying and ethics bill sponsored by House Republican leaders passed the House earlier this year. The bill, H.R. 4975, was designed to create the illusion, not the reality, of lobbying and ethic reform.

After it passed, the House leadership never even went to a conference with the Senate on the legislation.

Here is what the phony House-passed bill did not do:

-- It did nothing to fix the failed House ethics enforcement system, under which the House Ethics Committee did not even function for much of this Congress;

-- It did nothing to prohibit private interests with matters pending before Congress from paying for domestic and foreign trips taken by Members and House staff;

-- It did nothing to prevent corporations from making their company planes available and on call for Members' trips at deeply discounted costs;

-- It did nothing to prevent lobbyists and other influence-seekers from paying for lavish parties held to ''honor'' Members at such places as the national party nominating conventions, and from financing conferences, retreats and other events held by Members;

-- It did nothing to provide the public with information, currently not disclosed, about the campaign contributions that lobbyists solicit and arrange for Members;

-- It did nothing to further curb gifts from lobbyists to Members, despite the fact that the bill had a section misleadingly titled, ''Curbing Lobbyists Gifts'';

-- It did nothing to address the revolving door problem caused by Members leaving Congress and becoming actively engaged in lobbying their former colleagues, despite the fact that the bill had a section misleadingly titled, ''Slowing the Revolving Door;'' and

-- It did nothing to provide the public with information about the huge undisclosed sums being spent by professional lobbying firms to stimulate lobbying by the public, including multimillion dollar advertising campaigns.

H.R. 4975 passed the House on May 3, 3006 by a vote of 217 to 213.

''The wrong vote on H.R. 4975 was a 'yes' vote, according to Wertheimer. ''The right vote on the bill was a 'no' vote,'' since the legislation was designed to make citizens believe it was real reform when it was nothing of the kind.''

''The failure of this Congress to enact any real reforms to respond to the congressional corruption scandals is indefensible and an affront to public concerns about the honesty and integrity of their elected representatives,'' Wertheimer stated.

''No matter who controls the House and the Senate next year, Congress must move immediately to enact real and effective reforms to address the corruption problems in Congress,'' Wertheimer said.

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Capital Bits and Pieces Vol. VI , No. 83 Released: Thursday, October 19, 2006

Contact: Elenia Saloutsi
202-429-2008
esaloutsi@democracy21.org

For the latest reform news and to access previous reports, releases, and analysis from Democracy 21, visit www.democracy21.org.

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