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Burns changed his mind after a donation suggested by Abramoff

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havocmom Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Jan-21-06 10:47 AM
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Burns changed his mind after a donation suggested by Abramoff
Burns took trip to Marianas for meeting with official there... gee, that official has ties to Abramoff.

He did not oppose a bill granting more US oversight of workers and immigration in 2000. After receiving monies from people who gave to Burns on the advice of Abramoff, Burns voted against an identical bill later. Yes, same Burns from Montana who insists he did nothing wrong. Same guy who tried to give Abramoff connected contributions to a tribal council that has a former Burns aide as their only registered lobbyist. Same Burns left holding the bag when that tribal council voted NOT to accept the money from Burns as it looked questionable from a moral standpoint.

Hey, Conrad, tie some candy around your neck and get a bacon hat-band. Maybe the bears will play with you. Nobody else will.

http://www.billingsgazette.com/index.php?id=1&display=rednews/2006/01/21/build/state/30-burns-official.inc

Burns, who in 2000 did not oppose an identical Marianas measure, voted against a bill in May 2001 that would have strengthened U.S. oversight of the commonwealth's labor and immigration laws. He has come under scrutiny for changing his position on the bill after receiving the donation, which came from an Abramoff client.

The bill dealt with labor and immigration laws on the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, a U.S. territory near Guam. Residents of the commonwealth are U.S. citizens, although the island is exempt from many U.S. federal standards, including minimum wage laws.

In the late 1990s, about 58 percent of the islands' population was made up of noncitizen immigrants, many from China, drawn to the islands' garment manufacturing jobs, government reports show. Such noncitizen workers stay in the islands on visas that will not lead to U.S. citizenship. At the time, workers in the factories earned a minimum of $3.05 an hour, below the U.S. minimum wage of $5.15. Clothes made there can be imported to the United States with a "Made in USA" label, and factory owners pay no U.S. tariffs.

...

In 2000, the Senate passed a bill by unanimous consent that would have given the U.S. government more oversight of the islands' labor and immigration laws. Burns did not oppose the measure. Because the law passed by unanimous consent, it did not require an active vote by any senator, but any senator could have opposed it. The next year, Burns voted against the bill and requested that the vote be recorded.


Let's see, didn't oppose the bill in 2000. Not only DID opposed identical bill (hey, a guy can change his mind, I guess) but insisted on going on the record as opposing identical bill, after receiving a donation from interests in Marianas.

Help me here, I am so poor with Latin... Isn't that quid pro - something or other?
;)

Burns, you are a slime sucking pig and you are busted.
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