From Congressman Jay Inslee


Dear Ms Dee:

Thank you for contacting me regarding the ethics complaints against Representative Tom DeLay. I appreciate hearing from you.

Like you, I am deeply disturbed by the allegations of ethical impropriety leveled against Rep. DeLay. As I'm sure you are aware, members are under greater pressure than ever to hold their colleagues responsible for their actions, and I will closely watch the House Committee on Standards of Official Conduct in its investigation to ensure it is thorough and comprehensive.

As you may know, the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct has been unable to move forward in the 109th Congress due disagreements over this year's Republican Rules package. At the beginning of each Congress, this Committee must adopt a Rules package, by a majority vote, before conducting investigations or advising lawmakers. Ethics Committee membership is divided evenly between the two parties, and due to significant concerns that these rules weaken ethics standards, the Committee has been unsuccessful in achieving support from any of the five Democrats on this panel. As you may know, the Republican Rules package of the 109th Congress, sponsored by Rep. Delay, was passed on a strictly party-line vote of of 220 - 195, without my support. At the time of this writing, Chairman Hastings and Ranking Member Mollohan have not yet agreed on a compromise that would move Committee proceedings further.

You may be interested that I am a cosponsor of H. Res. 131, a bill introduced by Rep. Mollohan, the ranking Minority Member of the House Committee on Standards of Official Conduct. This bill would revise the rules of the 109th Congress to ensure that the Committee does not dismiss legitimate claims simply because there is no established subcommittee to review the complaint. Additionally, H. Res. 131 would further require the Committee to review properly filed complaints.

You can be sure that I will continue to monitor this situation in the coming months and I look forward to the results of their investigation. I agree that Congress must practice the highest ethical standards to earn the trust of those whom elect us to represent them. It is my hope that this leadership in the 109th Congress will operate the House of Representatives in a more bipartisan manner than in the 108th. The House of Representatives should allow for a free flowing of ideas, where bipartisan initiatives can take root. The American people want and deserve legislation considered that is in the best interests of the people, not any one political party.

You may also be interested to know that I am an original cosponsor of H.R. 1302 and H.R. 1304, the Stealth Lobbyist Disclosure Act of 2005. Current law requires lobbyist firms to disclose, semi-annually, some basic information about their clients' activities; however, as defined, a "client" is constituted as a coalition, not its constituent parts. Therefore, a small number of people or corporations can informally create a coalition and shield their lobbying activities from the disclosure requirements. Likewise, a lobbyist firm can coordinate the lobbying activities of its clients through an informal coalition in order to shield its true clients from public scrutiny.

In order to close this loophole, The Stealth Lobbyist Disclosure Act of 2005 would amend the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 to redefine the term "client" with respect to coalitions and associations on whose behalf a lobbyist must file a registration. The bill provides that, in the case of a coalition or association that employs or retains other persons to conduct lobbying activities, each of the individual members of the coalition is the client for whom a registration must be filed.

Please continue to contact me about the issues that concern you, as I both need and welcome your thoughts and ideas. As a service to my constituents, I maintain a website which contains valuable resources and information on Congressional activities. Please feel free to visit the website at http://www.house.gov/inslee for information on recent issues and to learn more about the services my office provides. If you have not done so already, please visit http://www.house.gov/inslee/signup.htm to subscribe to my e-mail updates.

I encourage you to contact me via email, telephone, or fax, because security measures are causing House offices to experience delays in receiving postal mail. My email address is: Jay.Inslee@mail.house.gov. Please be sure to include your full name and address, including your zip code, in your message.

Very truly yours,

JAY INSLEE
Member of Congress