Ethics Group Calls on Members of Congress to Return Funds from Cunningham

[kpete]

Ethics Group Calls on Members of Congress to Return Funds from Cunningham 'Co-Conspirators'

WASHINGTON, Dec. 2 /U.S. Newswire/ -- Campaign for a Cleaner Congress (CCC) today released new research detailing the depths of the ongoing House Lobbying Scandal. The group's website, http://www.cleanercongress.org, now contains documentation of a high-dollar money trail involving contributions from Jack Abramoff, former Rep. Randy Cunningham, Cunningham's co- conspirators and dozens of members of Congress.

"The guilty pleas of Michael Scanlon and Randy Cunningham are just the tip of a Texas-sized iceberg," said Mike Lux, president of American Family Voices, of which Campaign for a Cleaner Congress is a project. "All other members of Congress who held out their hands for this dirty money should now raise them high to vote in favor of serious ethical reforms to clean up Congress."

While a few recipients have returned their donations from these various disgraced sources, others have not. Campaign for a Cleaner Congress (CCC) today called on several members of Congress to return the campaign contributions they have accepted from four defense contractors named as former Rep. Randy Cunningham's co-conspirators, and support its five-point plan to clean up Congress.

Reps. Roy Blunt (MO-7), Henry Bonilla (TX-23), John Doolittle (CA-4), Tom DeLay (TX-22), Virgil Goode (VA-5), Katherine Harris (FL-13) and Duncan Hunter (CA-52) all accepted significant donations from the four contractors - all of whom are still under investigation by a federal prosecutor for their conduct.

"If members keep these contributions, it sends the clear message that they aren't committed to cleaning up Congress," Lux said. "Right now, Congress ought to be especially committed to eliminating corruption."
http://releases.usnewswire.com/GetRelease.asp?id=57540