During yesterday's debate, the House passed by voice vote an amendment -- sponsored by Reps. William Pascrell (D-8th Dist.), Frank LoBiondo (R-2nd Dist.) and Robert Menendez (D-13th Dist.) -- that would allow states to ban companies that have donated to political candidates or parties from participating in federal contracts.
New Jersey has enacted legislation prohibiting the state from awarding contracts worth more than $17,500 to those who have donated to state or county political parties in the previous 18 months. But acting Gov. Richard Codey vetoed parts of the bill pertaining to federal highway contractors because the Federal Highway Administration said the ban would tread upon the constitutional rights of campaign contributors. The vetoes have not yet been acted upon by the Legislature, and could be unnecessary if the House amendment becomes law.
Who thought that this was a bad idea?
There was little opposition offered to the amendment on the House floor, with only Rep. Thomas Petri (R-Wis.) speaking against it. Petri said the measure will waste money and time by forcing the federal government to police the political giving of contractors, many of whom operate nationally.
"It's eventually going to add to paperwork and end up resulting in higher costs," Petri said. He said New Jersey's corruption problems might require a federal fix, "but not at the expense of weakening the system for competitive bidding nationwide."
http://www.nj.com/news/ledger/index.ssf?/base/news-20/111052167462640.xml
It reminds me of something else he has said (In regards to Rep. DeLay's ethics violations - not to mention that large amount of contributions he recieves from road-building interests).....
http://jef4wi.com/6thCDDebate-Trafficinfraction.wmv
And never forget the classic....
http://jef4wi.com/6thCDDebate-Walgreens.wmv
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