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JINDAL’S POSITION ON ETHICS REFORM CHANGES AS HE PANDERS FOR VOTES

Wednesday, August 1, 2007

PRESS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Julie Vezinot

Aug. 1, 2007 225-336-4155

JINDAL’S POSITION ON ETHICS REFORM CHANGES AS

HE PANDERS FOR VOTES

BATON ROUGE – Mr. Jindal has changed his stripes once again when Tuesday he voted in favor of Ethics Reform in Congress after consistently siding with the Bush Administration to weaken the system in prior attempts for change.

Jindal’s recent declaration of “War on Corruption” is a stark contrast to prior votes in Congress when in 2005 he sided with Tom DeLay and other Republican colleagues to change House Ethics rules governing the conduct of members of Congress, thus weakening the system.

Jindal’s Votes against Ethical Reform:’

Jindal voted twice against the creation of a bi-partisan Ethics Task Force. Both votes were on motions to table (or effectively kill) a resolution by Rep. Nancy Pelosi that would have created a bipartisan Ethics Task Force, with equal representation of Republicans and Democrats, to make recommendations for restoring public confidence in the House Ethics process. Jindal voted for both motions, effectively voting to kill creation of the Ethics Task Force. (HR 213, Vote #106, 4/14/05; Passed 218-195, R 218-2, D 0-192, I 0-1; HR 153, Vote #70, 3/15/05; Approved 223-194, R 223-1, D 0-192, I 0-1; www.demvotes.com)

Jindal voted against effort to denounce “culture of corruption” in which votes in the House were held open until wavering House members could be won over through favors or threats. In 2005, Jindal voted against a resolution denouncing the “culture of corruption exhibited by the Republican leadership” in the House of Representatives. This measure was in response to the vote on the 2003 Medicare Drug Bill, in which voting was held open for nearly three hours in order to get a majority. Votes typically run for 17 minutes. One Republican lawmaker, who voted no, claimed that he was promised money for his son’s campaign if he voted yes. The resolution also stated that the Republican leadership underestimated the cost of the program to gain more Republican votes. The vote was on a motion to table (or kill) the Pelosi resolution containing the language. Jindal voted for the motion, effectively voting to kill the resolution. (HRS 591, Vote #622, 12/8/05; Approved 219-188, R 218-0, D 1-187, I 0-1; House Republicans reject Democratic resolution on corruption, AP, 12/8/05; www.demvotes.com)

Jindal voted against closing the lucrative “revolving door” between lobbying and lawmaking. In 2005, Jindal voted against an attempt to prohibit House members from negotiating lucrative job deals capitalizing on their committee memberships. Members of Congress, other politicians and government employees often leave their positions to lobby for firms over which they once had oversight or regulation responsibilities. Special interests spent $13 billion lobbying Congress from 1998 to 2003, and hundreds of former members of Congress are employed as lobbyists. The measure, which Jindal voted against, was rejected by a vote of 196-219. (HRS 5, Vote #5, 1/4/05; Failed 196-219, R 1-219, D 194-0, I 1-0; From the Capitol to K Street, Baltimore Sun, 1/4/05; Buzz Gets Louder For Tighter Reins On Lobbyists, Washington Post, 4/18/05; Revolving door spins ever faster, The (Albany) Times Union (Gannett), 4/17/05; www.demvotes.com)

“Mr. Jindal is aligning himself with Ethics Reform while telling the voters of Louisiana that all past and present Democratic elected officials are unethical and he is the savior to bring change and respectability to the state,” said Louisiana Democratic Party Chairman Chris Whittington.

“Voters should take note that although Mr. Jindal comes down hard on “his” idea of unethical behavior, he has yet to call out his ally (a person associated with another for common cause or purpose) David Vitter who admitted to a series of dishonorable actions,” Whittington said.

This vote is the third time in this Congressional session that Jindal has reversed his position on key issues in order to sway voters. In January, Jindal went against the GOP and the Bush Administration to vote for a minimum wage increase – an issue he staunchly opposed before. He also changed his position and was in favor of a reduction in student loan interest rates for college students.

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