Payments warrant scrutiny for Tom DeLay and ethics rules

[struggle4progress]

Knight Ridder/Tribune News Service

(KRT) - The following editorial appeared in the Kansas City Star on Friday, April 8: X X X

Tom DeLay had a reputation for shoddy ethics well before the latest revelations this week. But reports that the House majority leader channeled half a million dollars to close relatives in recent years take the concerns about DeLay to an even more disturbing level.

Members of the House need to carefully review the arrangements through which large sums of money were paid out by his political action and campaign committees - supposedly to his wife and daughter, supposedly in return for various services. They also need to review similar though smaller payments to relatives of other lawmakers in both parties.

Such payments raise fundamental conflict-of-interest concerns. Larry Noble, executive director of the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics, notes that "questions are raised any time a politician puts close family members on the payroll.''

The money in this case originally came from special interests that donated to DeLay's political committees. Politicians often win campaign donations by giving tax dollars, regulatory advantages and so forth to the donors. That system is bad enough. But things look even worse if some of the special-interest money winds up in a lawmaker's personal bank account. <snip>

http://www.fortwayne.com/mld/newssentinel/news/editorial/11345300.htm