Investigate Rep. Tom Petri!

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More than 7000 people have already signed our petition at MoveOn, joining Public Citizen in calling for an ethics investigation of Rep. Tom Petri for using his position to advance the interests of a Pentagon contractor in which he owned hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of stock. But if we are going to have a significant impact, we need to get at least 10,000 signatures. With your help, we can reach our goal! Please sign our petition and share it with your friends.

http://www.justforeignpolicy.org/act/investigate-petri

Here's a note we sent out last night. Thanks for all you do. - RN
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Dear Robert,

Public Citizen has called for the Office of Congressional Ethics to investigate Rep. Tom Petri [R-WI] for advocating for a Pentagon contractor in which Petri owns hundreds of thousands of dollars of stock.

Join Public Citizen and Just Foreign Policy in calling for an investigation:
http://www.justforeignpolicy.org/act/investigate-petri

On February 8, Gannett reported [1] that Petri had bought hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of stock in Oshkosh Corp., a military truck manufacturer. He then pressed fellow Members of Congress and Pentagon officials to help the company retain a $3 billion contract and escape Pentagon cuts. Meanwhile, the value of his investment in Oshkosh grew 28-33%, a gain of between $75,000 and $213,000. (Members of Congress are only required to report these numbers in ranges.)

Public Citizen called Petri's actions an “obvious conflict of interest.” “This is not just benefiting a major campaign contributor, this is going into his own pocket,” said Craig Holman, senior legislative director for Public Citizen. [2]

House ethics rules prohibit members from using their official position for personal gain.

We know that it's difficult to cut the bloated Pentagon budget because of the huge campaign contributions Members of Congress receive from Pentagon contractors. But this case is more extreme. If we’re going to change the fact that Congress is too cozy with Pentagon contractors to cut the Pentagon budget, this extreme case would be a great place to start.

A mainstream media report that has not been contradicted is sufficient evidence to justify a preliminary investigation. Urge the Office of Congressional Ethics and Members of the House Ethics Committee to begin investigating Rep. Petri's Pentagon contractor conflict of interest.

http://www.justforeignpolicy.org/act/investigate-petri
Thanks for all you do to help bring about a just foreign policy,

Robert Naiman, Chelsea Mozen, and Megan Iorio
Just Foreign Policy

References:
1. “Lawmaker holds stock in defense contractor he champions,” Donovan Slack, USA Today, February 8, 2014, http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2014/02/08/tom-petri-contractor-stock/5279629/
2. “Ethics watchdog urges investigation of U.S. Rep. Tom Petri,” Donovan Slack, Gannett, Feb. 11, 2014, http://www.postcrescent.com/article/20140211/APC0198/302110385/Ethics-watchdog-urges-investigation-U-S-Rep-Tom-Petri