DeLay gives more than 1 billion to "friends" (from THinkProgress)

[Sam_Lowry]

A-mazing...simply amazing. Inserted into bill after comittee. Disbursed by private group????

http://thinkprogress.org/2005/07/27/delay-dirty-tricks/

Thanks to TPM and ThinkProgress

[Pirate Smile]

1. Here is what Think Progress states:

"DeLay Still Up To Dirty Tricks
Tom DeLay thinks the federal treasury is his personal piggy bank. DeLay slipped "a $1.5 billion giveaway to the oil industry, Halliburton, and Sugar Land, Texas" into the energy bill.

But this isn't a normal case of government pork. DeLay has completely dispensed with the democratic process. From a letter Rep. Henry Waxman just sent Speaker Dennis Hastert:

The provision was inserted into the energy legislation after the conference was closed, so members of the conference committee had no opportunity to consider or reject this measure.

The $1.5 billion won't be administered by the government by a private consortium in DeLay's district:

The subtitle appears to steer the administration of 75% of the $1.5 billion fund to a private consortium located in the district of Majority Leader Tom DeLay. Ordinarily, a large fund like this would be administered directly by the government.

Hastert and DeLay need to explain themselves immediately. No member of Congress who takes taxpayer dollars seriously should vote for the energy bill until this matter is resolved.

http://thinkprogress.org/2005/07/27/delay-dirty-tricks/

[acmejack]

2. Thank goodness for Waxman!

He is the budgetary watchdog of the people.

[brentspeak]

3. Can't this by itself warrant an ethics investigation?

Or have the Republicans changed the rules enough so that even this is OK in the halls of Congress?

[Pirate Smile]

4. You would think so.

[Richard Steele]

5. In any nation governed by LAWS, the answer would be "YES".

In the USA, circa 2005...not so much.

[Sam_Lowry]

7. *shudder* I wonder if that's the very idea

Think about it. DeLay is already in trouble. Maybe him falling on the sword will divert attention away from Rove, et al. It's simply too egregious. Ethics won't touch it without big pressure from outside (they routinely ignore Waxman), and MSM will likely not pick it up unless they do. But at this point, BFEE will be happy if ANYTHING is being discussed besides Rove.

[Eloriel]

6. I can't understand why this isn't misappropriation of funds

taxpayer money and all that. It's clearly theft. Jeez. Talk about buying influence. How much will a billion get ya??

Edit: How many of us have to work how long to accumulate that much in taxpayer funds? A billion is a LOT of fucking money!

[AuntieM1957]

8. Think I just learned my price

for precisely one billion dollars, I will throw away that dreaded label "LIBERAL".

Tom, if you're listening, I will be your very best friend for a billion bucks.

But not one penny less.