No Whitewash for Tom DeLay Independent Investigation NOW!
- by: Public Citizen
- recipient: U.S. House of Representatives
Ethics in Congress are at an all time low, and the ringleader of this
disgraceful state of affairs is House Majority Leader Tom Delay (R-Texas). The
American people have a right to expect honorable leadership from Congress, yet
DeLay - arguably the most powerful member of the House today - has more ethical
violations than any other sitting member of Congress.
DeLay's ethical controversies expose a pattern of misconduct and misuse of power that is shameful in a Congressional leader: collecting campaign contributions from lobbyists while considering their legislation; misappropriating federal resources to intervene in state political battles; trading a campaign endorsement for a key House vote; and traveling on Congressional junkets paid for by corporate lobbyists, to name just a few examples.
How does DeLay get away with it? The House Ethics Committee has the power to investigate illegal conduct like DeLay's - but it is stacked with DeLays supporters, and members of Congress face immense pressure from their colleagues to "look the other way." The solution: an independent agency to monitor and enforce ethics in Congress - and the House cleaning should start with Tom DeLay.
Americans deserve fairness, and Americans deserve to know the truth. If we don't put a stop to this abuse of the public trust our elected officials will continue to legislate to benefit their high roller donors instead of the people they are supposed to represent. Only you can stop DeLay's flagrant corruption and help bring Congress back in line. Help Clean up Washington today - Demand an Independent Ethics Agency Now!
DeLay's ethical controversies expose a pattern of misconduct and misuse of power that is shameful in a Congressional leader: collecting campaign contributions from lobbyists while considering their legislation; misappropriating federal resources to intervene in state political battles; trading a campaign endorsement for a key House vote; and traveling on Congressional junkets paid for by corporate lobbyists, to name just a few examples.
How does DeLay get away with it? The House Ethics Committee has the power to investigate illegal conduct like DeLay's - but it is stacked with DeLays supporters, and members of Congress face immense pressure from their colleagues to "look the other way." The solution: an independent agency to monitor and enforce ethics in Congress - and the House cleaning should start with Tom DeLay.
Americans deserve fairness, and Americans deserve to know the truth. If we don't put a stop to this abuse of the public trust our elected officials will continue to legislate to benefit their high roller donors instead of the people they are supposed to represent. Only you can stop DeLay's flagrant corruption and help bring Congress back in line. Help Clean up Washington today - Demand an Independent Ethics Agency Now!
Dear Representative:
House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Texas) is not the only House member, of either party, to have violated House ethics rules, but his repeated scandals highlight the dire need to create an independent ethics agency.
How can Rep. DeLay be "investigated" by a House ethics committee when he made substantial campaign contributions to nearly all of the Republican members, and they owe him political favors? How can your constituents take seriously a process riddled with such glaring conflicts of interest? Regardless of which party controls the House, members are under enormous pressure to ignore unethical behavior by their colleagues.
I urge you to support legislation creating an independent ethics agency to review ethical violations by Rep. DeLay and any other member of Congress. At a minimum the agency should be:
Run by individuals who are NOT sitting members of Congress, and who have no conflicts of interest
Staffed by career professional investigators, not political appointees of either party
Given the authority to conduct independent investigations, subpoena witnesses and issue fines for ethics violations
Only such an independent agency can free the House from the political gridlock that has essentially destroyed ethics enforcement and brought us to this current sorry state. As your constituent, I urge you not to wait for the next round of tit-for-tat partisan ethics "attacks," or worse yet another seven-year period of inactivity from the ethics committee. The time for an independent ethics agency is NOW, and it should start with Rep. Tom DeLay.
Sign PetitionSign PetitionHouse Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Texas) is not the only House member, of either party, to have violated House ethics rules, but his repeated scandals highlight the dire need to create an independent ethics agency.
How can Rep. DeLay be "investigated" by a House ethics committee when he made substantial campaign contributions to nearly all of the Republican members, and they owe him political favors? How can your constituents take seriously a process riddled with such glaring conflicts of interest? Regardless of which party controls the House, members are under enormous pressure to ignore unethical behavior by their colleagues.
I urge you to support legislation creating an independent ethics agency to review ethical violations by Rep. DeLay and any other member of Congress. At a minimum the agency should be:
Only such an independent agency can free the House from the political gridlock that has essentially destroyed ethics enforcement and brought us to this current sorry state. As your constituent, I urge you not to wait for the next round of tit-for-tat partisan ethics "attacks," or worse yet another seven-year period of inactivity from the ethics committee. The time for an independent ethics agency is NOW, and it should start with Rep. Tom DeLay.
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