Ted Stevens is surrounded by reporters as he leaves a committee meeting on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, July 30, 2008. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
by Richard B. Schmitt
Congress has been awash in corruption scandals, the latest being the indictment of long-serving Republican Sen. Ted Stevens of Alaska, but prospects for legislation to make questionable practices like Stevens' alleged acceptance of gifts illegal in their own right appear grim.
A year after a bipartisan group of senators proposed giving the Justice Department important new clout in pursuing official misconduct, the Public Corruption Prosecution Improvements Act is apparently blocked in Congress.
The legislation is aimed at stanching the stream of perks that lobbyists and companies give to members of Congress that fall short of outright bribes by making it a felony for lawmakers to accept gifts valued above those permitted by Senate rules and that are given to them because of their official status and access to power.
It would appear to cover the sort of gifts that Stevens stands accused of getting from a powerful oil industry figure in Alaska -- more than $250,000 in improvements to his home near Anchorage and gifts including a Viking gas grill and a Land Rover, according to an indictment handed down Tuesday by a federal grand jury in Washington.
Stevens is scheduled to make his first appearance in the case today in federal court in Washington.
Richard B. Schmitt writes for the Los Angeles Times. Read the full story about anti-corruption legislation at latimes.com.
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Comments
Of course the outlook for reform is grim! And until the public gets sick and tired of this B.S. it will continue. Although I have a solution every law abiding citizen should write or call their local legislators and demand a strong law be passed that would include jail time and loss of pensions for anyone of any party that is convicted of wrong doing! The idea that someone goes to prison and retains their pension is absolutely ridiculous. If a bank robber were to rob a bank lets say a million dollars does he keep the money while serving his sentence? I don't think so! Why then should a crooked congressman or senator be any different?
Posted by: paul | July 31, 2008 8:31 PM