Corruption Personified

[MtSmalls]

Tom Delay. Living proof that power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely.

AFTER the close of discussion in committee on the Energy bill, Mr. Delay felt it appropriate to insert a 30 page amendment to bill. That is the amendment will go to the floor, but NO ONE will have voted to add that amendment to the bill.

What's in the amendment you might ask? a $1.5 billion fund for "Ultra Deep Water and Unconventional Natural Gas and Other Petroleum Resources". In short, it would allow the oil and gas industry to apply for grants from this fund for virtually any exploratory purpose deepwater or not. This is not the unusual part.

The unusual part, is that the amendment contains instructions to "contract with a corporation that is constructed as a consortium" for at least 75% of the fund. In almost every circumstance in history a fund this large would be managed directly by the government. Who would be the leading candidate for this juict government contract? The Research Partnership to Secure Energy for America (RPSEA). Which just happens to be housed at the Texas Energy Center in Sugar Land Tx, Mr. Delay's home district. Halliburton and Marathon Oil are among the members of this 'consortium'. Oh, and the bill allows for the consortium to keep up to 10% of the fund for "administrative purposes", in excess of $100 MILLION.
Oh, and members of the consortium, who sit on the board, are also free to apply for these "grants".

ouch...that's all i've got to say. i absolutely hate people sometimes...makes it easier to be a poker player though.
ouch

[Felix_Nietsche]

If you going to claim Tom DeLay is corrupt then you HAVE TO accuse 99% of all US politicians are "corrupt" because ALMOST all of them try to bring 'pork' in their districts.

Sorry, it is not corruption. It is 'bringing home the bacon' which has been an tradition of American politics for 200 years. The only federal US politician that I know of who does not play the pork game is Ron Paul (Republican of Houston,TX). Ron is a former libertarian presidential candidate and a medical doctor. His nickname in congress is "Dr. No" because he votes against any bill that that has even ONE unconstitutional provision.

[stealyourface]

[ QUOTE ]
His nickname in congress is "Dr. No" because he votes against any bill that that has even ONE unconstitutional provision.

[/ QUOTE ]

OH MY GOD!!! THAT IS TERRIBLE!!!

[nicky g]

"If you going to claim Tom DeLay is corrupt then you HAVE TO accuse 99% of all US politicians are "corrupt" because ALMOST all of them try to bring 'pork' in their districts.

Sorry, it is not corruption. It is 'bringing home the bacon' which has been an tradition of American politics for 200 years."

I agree that it is widespread (amongst both parties) and an old tradition, but it is a type of corruption in my opinion. This is also a particularly flagrant example of it.

[ QUOTE ]
If you going to claim Tom DeLay is corrupt then you HAVE TO accuse 99% of all US politicians are "corrupt" because ALMOST all of them try to bring 'pork' in their districts.

Sorry, it is not corruption. It is 'bringing home the bacon' which has been an tradition of American politics for 200 years. The only federal US politician that I know of who does not play the pork game is Ron Paul (Republican of Houston,TX). Ron is a former libertarian presidential candidate and a medical doctor. His nickname in congress is "Dr. No" because he votes against any bill that that has even ONE unconstitutional provision.

[/ QUOTE ]

This is hypocritcal and you know it. If it was a democract that was doing this, you'd be all over how this is another example of the evil democrats/liberals blah blah blah. This type of nonsense should be unacceptable no matter who does it.

[Felix_Nietsche]

I agree that it is widespread (amongst both parties) and an old tradition, but it is a type of corruption in my opinion.
************************************************** ******
You are consistent and I can respect that.
I don't respect the DeLay bashers who attack DeLay on this pork while their favorite politicians do the same thing.

I think a lot of 'pork' is corruption because it violates the US Constitution.
e.g. Ted "Uncle Ted" Stevens (Repub. Alaska) who got money for a $1.5M bustop. The interstate commerce clause of the US Constitution can not be cited to support this expediture of federal funds. I'm a Repub but I'd like to see Stevens tarred-and-feathered (Literally! Yes, I mean literally. I miss the good old days when American citizens would tar and feather corrupt politicians. /images/graemlins/frown.gif).

http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=770570&CMP=OTC-RSSFeeds0312

[ptmusic]

Felix, are you a fan of Tom Delay? Do you defend him against all he's been accused of in the past year?

-ptmusic

[Felix_Nietsche]

This is hypocritcal and you know it. If it was a democract that was doing this, you'd be all over how this is another example of the evil democrats/liberals blah blah blah. This type of nonsense should be unacceptable no matter who does it.
************************************************** ***
Not so. Read my reply to Nicky G on Ted Stevens (Republican, Alaska) $1.5M bus stop.
Somehow I doubt you will admit that you were wrong to accuse me of this...

[FishHooks]

I agree its very hypocritical, pork barreling happens all the time and with both parties, I think it needs to be reguladed badly by both sides. How do you stop it though? These people were elected by their districts to help them out and thats what their doing, but at the expense of the county. Its a hard thing to regulate because it has gotten so out of hand, and its not second nature for congressman to "bring home the bacon". This is why I believe is stronger state govt's and less federal government. More money would be going to each state and then they could do what they want.

[MtSmalls]

Pork Barrel politics is as old as, well, pork barrels (would YOU buy pork, even salted, from a barrell??).

The corruption comes in HOW this juicy little amendment made its way into the bill. That is AFTER the chairman of the committee gaveled discussion on the bill closed. NO ONE has voted for this amendment, in committee (reconciling the House and Senate versions) in the House or in the Senate.

Secondly, it takes the funds out of government control (local or otherwise) and effectively places it in the hands of corporate executives that stand to benefit. Thirdly, we're not talking about a $1.5M bus stop, or $100 million for an indoor tropical rain forest in Iowa. It's $1.5 BILLION. How much armor would that buy for our troops in Afghanistan and Iraq??

I disagree with this type of pork across the board, even when its handled within the procedures of the House. This is my main reason for supporting the line item veto power of the President.

[BCPVP]

I think the title of this thread is intentionally antagonistic and probably hypocritical. That said, here's the Citizens Against Government Waste press release regarding the Energy Bill:

CCAGW Denounces Energy Bill



(Washington, D.C.) - The Council for Citizens Against Government Waste (CCAGW) today urged both chambers of Congress to vote against the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (H.R. 6). The conference report contains $14.5 billion in targeted tax breaks and incentives and authorizes more than $66 billion in federal spending. President Bush originally requested a bill costing $6.7 billion.



“The bill does not establish a coherent policy; it’s a mess, the kind of hodgepodge approach that breaks the bank and fails to produce results.” CCAGW President Tom Schatz said. “While the energy bill does not decrease dependence on foreign oil, it does increase dependence on federal handouts.”


The 1700-page conference report is chock-full of corporate subsidies, targeted tax breaks, and other special interest handouts. Among the provisions CCAGW finds most objectionable:

· $550 million for the Denali Commission. Established to funnel federal economic development aid to Alaska, the commission’s only champion has been Senate Appropriations Committee member Ted Stevens (R-Alaska). There has been $134.5 million in pork for the commission since 2000.

· Title XIV: Unlimited Loan Guarantees. Title XIV will guarantee up to 80 percent of the cost of developing new energy technologies. When such endeavors fail, taxpayers will cover the losses. The Congressional Budget Office estimates the cost at $3.75 billion in loan guarantees over the first five years, carrying a 20 to 60 percent risk of default on the loans. But after five years, there is no limit on the amount of loans that can be guaranteed.



· Ethanol mandate. The requirement that 7.5 billion gallons of corn-derived ethanol be added to the domestic gasoline supply by 2012, double the current mandate, is nothing more than corporate welfare bad for consumers and taxpayers but a boon to Midwestern farmers. Producing a gallon of ethanol may require more energy than the ethanol actually contains; the result being that oil imports will fall by less than .05 percent.



· Hydrogen car. The conference bill allocates $1.92 billion over five years toward research related to hydrogen fuel cell technology, even though major auto makers are already developing hydrogen-powered vehicles.



· Intermittent escalator study. The energy bill instructs the federal government to study the advantages and disadvantages of using escalators that remain stationary until approached by passengers.



“We don’t need a federal study on intermittent escalators. When such products are technically and economically feasible, the market will provide them. The federal government should not be picking winners and losers. The free market is the best way to promote energy efficient products and services,” Schatz concluded.



The Council for Citizens Against Government Waste is the lobbying arm of Citizens Against Government Waste, the nation's largest nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to eliminating waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement in government.

http://councilfor.cagw.org/site/News2?abbr=CCAGW_&page=NewsArticle&id=9150