Friday Faxline: Issue 511
Rep. Jefferson indicted on 16 counts of corruption
After months of investigation, a federal grand jury handed down a 16-count indictment for Rep. William Jefferson (D-LA) this week. The charges include racketeering, solicitation of bribes, obstruction of justice and money laundering, and carry a maximum sentence of 235 years behind bars. The indictment is not surprising - two associates of Jefferson's have already pleaded guilty to bribing the Congressman, and a freezer in Jefferson's home was infamously found to contain $90,000 in marked bills during an FBI search. If Jefferson is found guilty of these crimes, he should step down from office. If he refuses, Congressional leaders should move to expel him from the House. This kind of corrupt behavior brings disgrace upon Congress as a whole and must not be tolerated, regardless of the offender's political party affiliation.
Democrats move backward on earmark reform
When Democrats took control of Congress in January, they pledged to reform the earmark process that funds so much pork-barrel spending in Washington. It's been six months now, and we're still waiting. The process created by Appropriations Committee Chairman David Obey (D-WI) claims to bring "earmark-free" spending bills to the House floor. But there's a catch. While a bill may be earmark-free initially, members are able to "air-drop" earmarks into the final version of the bill, called a conference report. These conference reports are subject to much less scrutiny and accountability than the initial process of going through committee hearings and debate on the House floor. Conference reports are also not subject to amendment. The net effect of Obey's new system is even less spending accountability than there was before Democrats took control. That's a step in the wrong direction.
House defeats fake cloning ban
On Wednesday, the House considered H.R. 2560, the Human Cloning Prohibition Act of 2007, sponsored by Rep. Diana DeGette (D-CO). If ever there was a real-life example of Orwellian doublethink, this bill is it: claiming, as its title says, to prohibit human cloning, this bill actually does nothing at all to ban human cloning. The bill defines human cloning as the implantation of a cloned embryo into a womb to initiate a pregnancy, not the cloning of an embryo itself. So in reality, this bill would allow researchers to clone human embryos as much as they want, so long as they make sure to eventually kill them. Fortunately, members of House weren't fooled by this ruse. Because of procedural considerations, the bill required a two-thirds majority to pass. Not only did it fail to receive two-thirds support, it failed to win even a simple majority of the 435 House members' votes.
Embryonic stem cell bill loses momentum in the House
On Thursday, the House voted on S. 5, a bill authorizing taxpayer funding for stem cell research that requires the destruction of human embryos. Although the bill passed, it received fewer votes than the last time it was considered in the House, and fell short of the margin needed to override an expected presidential veto. Embryo-destroying stem cell research raises serious ethical concerns for millions of Americans and has yet to produce a single cure in humans. On the other hand, non-controversial adult stem cells continue to show progress, including a major study announced this week involving skin cells that can be made to function like stem cells. If Congress is going to devote federal tax dollars to this research, it should focus on the methods that are showing the most progress with the least controversy. That method is adult stem cell research.
Quote of the Week
"My immediate goal is simple: I want to listen and to learn."
- Robert Zoellick, President Bush's pick to replace Paul Wolfowitz as World Bank President, announcing his plans to tour Africa, Europe, and Latin America.