Roll Call – House Ethics Panel to Investigate Caribbean Trips
The House ethics committee voted Wednesday to investigate two privately sponsored trips to the Caribbean over concerns surrounding the events’ benefactors.
Media reports in recent months raised questions regarding how the Carib News Foundation funds an annual trip to the Caribbean, as well as whether private companies sponsored the 2008 event in St. Maartens, Netherlands Antilles.
“On June 24, 2009 the Committee adopted a resolution establishing an investigation subcommittee to investigate officially-connected travel in 2007 and 2008 that was sponsored, funded or organized by an organization known as Carib News or Carib News Foundation,” a statement issued by the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct states.
“The rules potentially implicated include the House gift rule (House Rule 25, clause 5) and other rules and laws, regulations, and other standards of conduct applicable to the conduct of Members, Delegates or Employees of the House in the performance of their duties or the discharged of their responsibilities,” the statement continued.
Under House rules, Members and staff are prohibited from accepting gifts from lobbyists or foreign agents and face strict rules on receiving items from other sources.
Several members of the Congressional Black Caucus who attended the November 2008 event said Wednesday that they had previously provided information on the trip to the Office of Congressional Ethics, which reviews potential rules violations and makes recommendations to the full ethics committee.
Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) said the OCE contacted him regarding the trip.
Roll Call
6/24/9
Magnolia Tribune
