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Pelosi Announces Special Task Force on Ethics Enforcement

Washington, D.C. – Speaker Nancy Pelosi with Minority Leader John Boehner announced today a special task force on ethics enforcement. The task force will report to the House by May 1 to consider whether the House should create an outside enforcement entity, based on examples in state legislatures and private entities.

“In the first days of 110th Congress, a bipartisan majority passed landmark reforms to restore accountability, honesty, and openness to the House of Representatives,” Pelosi said. “We broke the link between lobbyist and legislators and set our country back on a path to fiscal discipline. These strong rules are significant steps toward honest leadership; enforcing these rules is critical to ensuring every Member of Congress lives up to the highest ethical standard.”

The Members of the task force are:

• Congressman Michael Capuano (D-MA), Chairman
• Congressman Lamar Smith (R-TX)
• Congressman Dave Camp (R-MI)
• Congressman Dave Hobson (R-OH)
• Congressman Marty Meehan (D-MA)
• Congressman Bobby Scott (D-VA)
• Congressman Todd Tiahrt (R-KS)
• Congresswoman Betty McCollum (D-MN)

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It will take you until May to produce a report?? You already have an outside enforcement entity. As a matter of fact you have more than one. Take your pick!! Are you honestly, scratch that, are you trying to tell the American people you don’t know how to commence enforcement proceedings on offenders of your grand ethics reform?

Not even a complete month, Speaker Pelosi, and you have already been a major disappointment. It has been posted here that your ethics reform was a joke. The bigger joke is you won’t enforce the ethics reform you don’t have. Have you no shame?

Stanford Matthews
MoreWhat.com

Committee Holds Hearing on Political Influence on Government Climate Change Scientists
Four witnesses testified on Tuesday regarding allegations that political officials stifled government scientists in order to minimize the significance of global climate change.

Chairman Waxman Requests Additional Information on GSA Procurement
Chairman Waxman writes to GSA Administrator Lurita A. Doan and others inquiring about GSA procurement issues.

Chairman Waxman Invites Witnesses for Waste, Fraud, and Abuse Hearing
Rep. Waxman has requested the testimony of L. Paul Bremer, Stuart Bowen, and Timothy Carney at an Oversight Committee hearing on waste, fraud, and abuse, which will focus on Iraq reconstruction. The hearing will be held the week of February 6th.

One of the few times political motives may actually be a good thing. Part of the downside of this good thing might be the use of hearings and investigations to simply embarrass the other party. But if Senator Henry Waxman and other members of this committee can uncover the abuse and indict the offenders there could be plenty of upside.

The so-called toughest ethics reform bill in decades will be entirely meaningless if the reconstruction contracts and lack of results in Afghanistan and Iraq are not corrected. This doesn’t mean more taxpayer money to right the wrongs of contractors. This means holding those contractors responsible and having those companies right the wrong.

Rather than civil penalties or less for those who commit such acts, criminal penalties and a real prison should be the fate of offenders found guilty. That would include applying undue influence on government scientists and more no bid nonsense from Doan at the GSA. Penalties with teeth and real criminal punishment might reduce unlawful or unethical practices in government. That would be tough legislation and action, not the fertilizer that passed through Congress recently.

Stanford Matthews
MoreWhat.com

Waxman Set to Probe Areas of Bush Gov’t

Lawmaker Says There Are So Many Areas of Possible Wrongdoing
to Probe in Bush Administration.

It was reported that Haaliburton will do an IPO spin off of their KBR
unit. It would be no surprise if a legal advantage would be gained by
this transaction to shift blame when Congress begins hearings and the
investigations of these firms and their no bid contracts in Iraq. Could
this be the real reason Vice-President Cheney will not be around for
his party’s obligatory nomination for 2008?

Another question to ask is if the Republicans will allow all this to go
on without calling for investigations of their own. It is not like their is
not enough blame to go around. Just because Senator Waxman has a
track record for “oversight” and “investigations” does not make him
untouchable. Does he have anything to hide or can he survive close
scrutiny? Maybe this will be the undoing of both parties. We can only
hope that politics would be healed by the demise of the major political
parties or at least the corruption linked to them. Not to mention the
power and influence peddling that damages a republic.

Stanford Matthews
MoreWhat.com

Outgoing US Congress must deal with spending bills,
tax relief to …
International Herald Tribune -
AP. WASHINGTON: Before the new Democrat-led Congress
takes over in January, current members of the House and Senate
have to finish up with the year’s legislative business, whether
they won re-election or not.

Much in the blogosphere today rehashing political events of the
past week and before. The best we’ve seen claim Limbaugh and
Hewitt are party faithful and defend the GOP to the death, right
or wrong. Is this a joke? What’s the big revelation about any of
the talking heads having an agenda? On the other side, how about
Al Franken or Air America? An agenda, ya think? The sad part
is no one seems to admit that politicians are party faithful as well.

If you believe that there is no agenda in the photo ops with Pelosi
and Bush, then you were born yesterday or more likely early this
morning. Reid, Durban, Biden, etc., etc., all making nice. Notice
by many Democrats that the public has spoken and Dems intend to
do what the American people want is certainly subject to careful
interpretation. Our interpretation is Dems will seize the next two
years doing what they want in as much as their majority will allow.
The party versus party blame game will continue as well as lobby
dollars and corruption. If you think everything will get better just
because the other major party won political advantage this week,
your birthdate may not even exist yet or the turnip truck you will
fall off of is still on the drawing board.

Stanford Matthews
MoreWhat.com

Bush, Mexico’s Calderon to work on immigration
Reuters -
… W. Bush and Mexican President-elect Felipe Calderon
pledged on Thursday to work together for a comprehensive
solution to curb illegal immigration from Mexico …

If it was not a plot by both Houses of Congress to introduce
HR4437 knowing it would never get through the Senate, then
the fine new Senate of the 110th Congress should be able to
finish strong reform starting in January 2007. Similar to the
fact that Immigration Reform of 1986 was never enforced, in
their grand wisdom, politicians have improved on their deceit
by creating a better strategy. Work together just long enough
to satisfy mutual goals and fool the public in believing you really
give a damn. Like Democrats conceding Presidential 2004
elections by nominating John Kerry when John Edwards wsa a
much more viable candidate. Kerry was a sacrificial lamb and
the only one who did not know it was Kerry. He still doesn’t.

We hope all you smiling Democrats are enjoying your victories.
We hope all you Republicans are understanding your arrogance
that led to this. And we hope you both as well as all of America
is prepared for a continuation of porous borders, unrestricted
immigration and a complete breakdown of national security.

If you haven’t noticed, the resignation of Secretary Donald
Rumsfeld and previously mentioned items absolutely elated the
Muslim world. Al-Jazeera and the rest have been celebrating
since November 7th, 2006. Thank you one and all. NOT!

Stanford Matthews
MoreWhat.com

Like the previous post, this relates to a post by Senator Waxman
at The Hill’s Congress Blog.