Two Chicago Democrats, Reps. Bobby Rush and Luis Gutierrez, did not file any trip records since 2000 with the clerk of the U.S. House. After being contacted by the Tribune, their offices said they were working to comply.
“You brought it to our attention,” Tasha Harris, a Rush spokeswoman, told the Tribune. “We didn’t know we had to file.”
Gutierrez took at least 25 paid trips and Rush more than six, other financial disclosure records show.
It’s not hard to know when someone else pays the bills and you are a Member of Congress–disclose.
The obvious question, and one I can’t answer since the House doesn’t make disclosure available on the web is, did Danny Davis get trips from the Moonies?
BTW. Cross Guys, it’s not the same to compare a fully disclosed trip by Rahm to DeLay’s scandals that involve not just your typical non-profit or company, but companies and non-profits strangely funded by a lobbyist, Jack Abramoff who is a close friend of DeLay. Comparing an organization that supports democratic reform that meets in Paris compared to a trip to Scotland for golfing paid for by gambling interests is a bit different.
There’s nothing hypocritical in calling for greater disclosure and taking a trip that would meet those standards easily. Especially when compared to a trip that doesn’t even pass current standards by DeLay.
The larger point is that the return of a House Ethics Committee with teeth and without the phony truce of the last few years will hold people accountable from DeLay to Guittierez.