Free Republic

U.S. Rep. Paul Hodes announced Monday that he will no longer request federal money to finance projects in New Hampshire that benefit businesses, hospitals, police departments and colleges. Hodes, a Democrat, said the appropriations process also known as earmarking is broken because many lawmakers abuse the system. He cited the poor economy and federal deficit as other reasons behind his newly adopted stance. But Hodes denied that he is forgoing earmarking because he is running for U.S. Senate and stepping away from the controversial issue could benefit him politically, as the state Republican Party immediately claimed. “There’s nothing I can...

House Republicans have been taunting Democrats for turning down their offer to eliminate spending earmarks, and Democrats reply that the GOP isn't serious. The Republicans seem intent on proving that Democrats are right, as GOP leaders showed last week in denying Arizona's Jeff Flake a seat on the Appropriations Committee...

NLPC IN THE NEWS Associated Press W. Va. Democratic Rep. Steps Aside Amid ProbeCongressman Mollohan Denies Wrongdoing, Calls Concerns 'Rubbish' WASHINGTON - Rep. Alan Mollohan, under Justice Department investigation about whether he has benefited from directing federal funds to nonprofit groups he helped start, stepped aside Wednesday from working on key elements of the department's budget. The move came on the day Mollohan, D-W.Va., was named chairman of an Appropriations subcommittee responsible for the department's budget. Mollohan will not have anything to do with setting the budgets for the attorney general's office, the FBI or the Justice Department's criminal...

Reid pledges change, but he pushed funding that may benefit him. WASHINGTON — Incoming Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid vows to make reform of congressional earmarks a priority of his tenure, arguing that members need to be more transparent when they load pet projects for their districts into federal spending bills. But last year's huge $286-billion federal transportation bill included a little-noticed slice of pork pushed by Reid that provided benefits not only for the casino town of Laughlin, Nev., but also, possibly, for the senator himself. Reid called funding for construction of a bridge over the Colorado River, among...

FAIRMONT — The children of three Morgantown developers pulled away tarps to reveal giant renderings of an $87-million development proposed at the site of a former coke plant Monday afternoon. The brainchild of developers Michael Vecchio, Mark Tampoya and David Rees, who make up The Water Works LLC, Volcano Island Indoor Waterpark Resort is only the first phase of a redevelopment plan for the 107-acre property on the site of the former Sharon Steel plant on the East Side of Fairmont. The children will probably be among the first to experience the 12 water slides, surf machine, water roller coaster,...

FALLS CHURCH, Va., April 18 /U.S. Newswire/ -- The National Legal and Policy Center (NLPC) conducted a nine-month investigation into Rep. Alan Mollohan's Financial Disclosure Reports and concluded that it contained more than 200 errors or omissions. NLPC issued the following statement responding to Rep. Mollohan's defense of his sharp rise in wealth in recent years: Mollohan's recent statement was characterized as "a detailed response to two major allegations" which described as the alleged unexplained increase in the value of his assets from 2000 to 2004 and the allegation that he grossly underestimated the value of his investments over nine...

Inert and feckless, the House ethics committee stands as a laughable oxymoron. It is a still life in partisan gridlock even as the issue of Congressional corruption captures voters' attention. Now its ranking Democrat, Alan Mollohan of West Virginia, has emerged as the latest example of the sort of shady dealings that have sent Congress plummeting in the public's estimation. News articles have disclosed that Mr. Mollohan, while unstinting in criticizing Republicans for the abuses of the Jack Abramoff scandal, has made a lucrative art form of the notorious budget "earmarks" by which lawmakers customize pork projects for favored constituents...

WASHINGTON- National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) Chairman Tom Reynolds today reacted to a front page report in The Wall Street Journal: "Today, I am calling on Alan Mollohan to resign from the House Committee on Standards of Official Conduct. "It is no wonder that Mr. Mollohan and Democrat leaders have stalled for so long in getting the Ethics Committee up and running. "I believe it would be prudent at this point for Mr. Mollohan to resign from the Ethics Committee until this investigation is completed."

NLPC Complaint Alleges Ranking House Ethics Committee MemberHid Assets and Funded Business Partner’s Groups with Millions in Earmarks  Date: April 7, 2006Contact: Ken Boehm 703-237-1970Website: www.nlpc.org The National Legal and Policy Center (NLPC) today disclosed that it filed a 500-page Complaint on February 28 with the office of the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia detailing hundreds of ethics law violations by Rep. Alan Mollohan (D-WV). Rep. Mollohan is the ranking member of the House ethics committee and a senior member of the House Appropriations Committee. The Wall Street Journal this morning carried a front-page story about the case. The lengthy...

West Virginia Rep. Mollohan Has Real-Estate Holdings That Also Bring Scrutiny Growth of Budget 'Earmarks' ... ... money has brought more than jobs and building projects to his district. It has formed and financed a tight-knit network of nonprofit institutions in West Virginia that are run by people who contribute regularly to Mr. Mollohan's campaigns, political-action committee and a family foundation. One ...invests in real estate alongside Mr. Mollohan and his wife. The network of contributors also includes private companies that get contracts through these nonprofits. Such a pattern raises questions about whether the donations or deals might be a...

Hearts of darkness By: RICK REISS - For The Californian Avid readers of the classics know the works of Joseph Conrad. In 1898 Conrad penned the novella "Heart of Darkness" and coined the phrase "going native." This phrase has not lost any of its relevance in the 21st century. The disgraced and convicted former Congressman Randy "Duke" Cunningham now stands as a modern-day icon of the dark-hearted politician who betrays his people. As a former constituent of Cunningham's, I feel betrayed by a man who swore to represent me but chose instead to serve himself. As a Navy veteran I...