Unethical climate in congress
Elaborate schemes concocted by prominent Washington lobbyist Richard Kessler, head of Kessler Business Services, have allowed registered lobbyists to spend millions of dollars taking members of Congress on luxurious trips to Europe and U.S. resorts without technically violating congressional ethics rules that forbid registered lobbyists from paying for congressional travel. "We did what everybody else did," stated former representative Bill Frenzel (R-Minn.), including getting legal counsel to approve all spending decisions, and obtaining letters of approval from the ethics committees of the House and Senate approving the trips.
Kessler-influenced groups and companies are responsible for providing 6 percent of the $17.6 million lawmakers have reported receiving in free travel from private companies and organizations from 2000 to mid-2005, Public Citizen estimates. It is legal for lawmakers to take trips paid
for by private companies and organizations, so through Kessler Business Services, lobbyists still foot the bill.
It is apparently alright for Washington, DC to be "directly not against the law", even though they essentially "broke the spirit of the law". This great number of lobbyists did break the law in my book, by not being ethical. And the only way to restore trust between the people and their representatives, is to vote in ethical challenger candidates this election year to replace the irresponsible incumbents. Help turn away the corrupt careerist incumbents in Washington, and support VOID in its simple mission to restore responsibility and accountability through the election process!
Sources: Public Citizen, Washington Post
