Please add your name:
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
===
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
Thursday, February 13, 2014
Investigate Rep. Tom Petri!
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