2 on ethics panel back bill to aid DeLay donor (Bacardi)

[rainbow4321]

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/washington/stories/042705dnnatbacardi.4e41c7c4.html


Two members of the House ethics committee are among sponsors of a bill to help Bacardi USA, a company under indictment in Texas in a case involving one of House Majority Leader Tom DeLay's political action committees.

Rep. Lamar Smith of San Antonio and Rep. Melissa Hart, R-Pa., are among 18 co-sponsors of a proposal that would alter U.S. trademark rules to benefit the Florida-based rum maker.

Watchdog groups say the measure is special-interest legislation to assist a single company with deep ties to Mr. DeLay. "This particular bill keeps coming up year after year, and they don't have anybody who will carry that water without him," said Melanie Sloan of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics, a Washington-based nonprofit group. "Without Tom DeLay, they won't have a bill."

Similar legislation on Bacardi's behalf was pushed by Mr. DeLay in 2003 but was withdrawn after reports that Mr. DeLay's political committees had received $40,000 from the company. Bacardi has also given $3,000 to Mr. DeLay's legal defense fund.

[whistle]

1. Bacardi is not a DeLay donor, Bacardi is a DeLay owner