Feb 2nd, 2003, 03:27 AM
DeLay's change in ethics rules angers watchdogs, lawmakers
[link]http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/nation/1760126[/link]
Jan. 31, 2003, 11:28PM
DeLay's change in ethics rules angers watchdogs, lawmakers
By KAREN MASTERSON
Copyright 2003 Houston Chronicle Washington Bureau
WASHINGTON -- One of Rep. Tom DeLay's first maneuvers as majority leader was to engineer a change of House ethics rules so charities now may pay for lawmakers' travel and meals whenever they participate in charitable fund-raising events.
The change came as DeLay is organizing a Florida golf tournament that will benefit a project in his district south of Houston.
The tournament is expected to raise more than $1 million -- some of it coming in six-figure donations -- from lobbyists and corporate officials who have legislation before Congress.
They will be paired with key lawmakers for golf and dinner. Because the money is going to a nonprofit organization, the names of the lobbyists, corporate officials and lawmakers can be withheld from the public.
Proceeds will go to the DeLay Foundation for Kids, which is raising $6 million to build a foster home in Fort Bend County.
On a donated lot of 50 acres, the foundation hopes to build a community center that will serve nearly 250 abandoned and abused youths, and include sports facilities, a chapel and resources for physical and psychological assessments.
But the worthiness of the charitable cause -- DeLay's or any others -- isn't the issue that is rankling some lawmakers. They say DeLay surreptitiously slipped the rule change into a larger measure that established committee ratios and other housekeeping matters that generally need redefining at the beginning of each new Congress.
Particularly upset by the change was Rep. Joel Hefley, R-Colo., chair of the House ethics committee, who said he was "blindsided." He told the Washington Post that his committee's job "is to keep people out of trouble. We don't want to have the impression, nor the reality, that we're trying to weasel around ways to live high at someone else's expense."
Citizen watchdog groups, including Common Cause and Democracy 21, are trying to find a Republican willing to reverse the rule change by introducing a measure to repeal it. But few lawmakers, Democrats included, are willing to take on the powerful majority leader -- known for punishing his adversaries by killing funds for projects in their hometowns.
Meanwhile, philanthropists worry the rule change will turn back the clocks to a time when charities were used as fronts for political activity.
"For lobbyists to be able to buy access to lawmakers under the guise of supporting charity is an affront to the philanthropic community -- and it ought to be an embarrassment to the House Republican leadership," said Rick Cohen, executive director of the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy.
The rule change reverses a ban put in place in 1995 by former GOP House Speaker Newt Gingrich. It was part of a sweeping reform package designed to end expensive junkets that bought the powerful and wealthy access to the nation's leaders.
DeLay had opposed the changes, arguing at the time that a better policy would be to disclose such financial transactions, not prohibit them.
"You want to play on a good golf course on a sunny day, and it's helpful to have a few VIPs to attract support for this great cause," DeLay spokesman Jonathan Grella said of the new rules change that will apply to DeLay's golf tournament, as well as other charitable fund-raisers.
DeLay's event will be held in April at the Ocean Reef Club, a resort in Key Largo.
Fred Wertheimer, president of Democracy 21, asked DeLay in a widely publicized letter sent Wednesday to disclose a list of contributors expected for the event, and an accounting of the expenses paid to each lawmaker who attends.
DeLay refused. However, his office told Wertheimer if he wanted to give to the foundation, that donation would be made public.
In a touché on Thursday, Wertheimer wrote a $250 check to DeLay's foundation, with one stipulation: None of the money may go to pay the way for lawmakers attending the Key Largo golf tournament.
"We're glad that Mr. Wertheimer's facility for self-promotion has not only benefited him, but now needy children," Grella quipped Thursday, after learning of the check.
He added: "We're proud of our efforts to help abused and neglected children. The DeLays have dedicated themselves to this cause and will continue to do so."
Wertheimer said that helping children was not the point: "We're asking Mr. Delay to stand by his own words. He's the one who said that the way to deal with this problem is full disclosure."
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