State Ethics Law Protection Act Of 2010

Floor Speech

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Mr. Speaker, now more than ever, we must use every tool at our disposal to fight corruption. My home State of Illinois has made headlines time and again with charges of cronyism, corruption, and waste. Many of these charges involved pay-to-play politics, trading campaign contributions for government contracts.

In 2008, the Illinois General Assembly took a bipartisan stand by passing a bill to eliminate pay-to-play contracting. Amazingly, the Federal Government then told Illinois that it had to back down or risk losing highway funds. The Federal Highway Administration interpreted their competitive bidding requirements to mean that States couldn't weed out corrupt contractors. Clearly that wasn't the intent of this Chamber when it passed those requirements. That is why I am pleased we are debating this important fix.

H.R. 3427, the State Ethics Law Protection Act, will make it clear that Congress supports the right of States to fight corruption. States like Connecticut, New Jersey, South Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Kentucky have passed laws like Illinois', and others are debating similar bills. They are all arriving at the same bipartisan conclusion: Corruption must be stamped out and pay-to-play made a thing of the past. Our States have shown they are ready for reform. It is now our duty to ensure they have the ability to do so.

At this critical juncture, we must do all we can to inspire the trust and confidence of people across the country. After all, without the people's trust, we cannot govern. I wish to thank Chairman Oberstar and the committee for bringing this bill to the floor and urge my colleagues to support the State Ethics Law Protection Act.

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