NJDC Calls on Senate GOP to Strip Stevens of Appropriations Committee Assignment
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NJDC Calls on Senate GOP to Strip Stevens of Appropriations Committee Assignment until Corruption Investigation Complete
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, the National Jewish Democratic Council (NJDC) called on the Senate Republican Leadership to remove Senator Ted Stevens from his seat on the Senate Appropriations Committee until investigation into corruption charges is complete. As USA Today pointed out in its September 6 editorial, Stevens' "senior position on the Senate Appropriations Committee means that he helps set the budget for the Justice Department, the FBI and the IRS - all of which are investigating him." [USA Today, 9/6/07]
"Again we see a double standard on the part of the Senate Republican leadership," said NJDC Vice Chairman Marc R. Stanley. "They were swift to punish Senator Larry Craig for his involvement in a gay sex scandal. But when homosexuality is not involved, GOP Leaders are slow to hold their own Senators accountable."
Writes USA Today in its editorial, "Particularly troubling is the case of Senator Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, who has been swept up in a major corruption investigation. Associates, including an Alaska businessman who oversaw the renovation of a home Stevens owns in Alaska, have been convicted or pleaded guilty. The FBI searched Stevens' home in July."
"Senator Stevens is entitled to due process, and if he is cleared of these most serious charges, NJDC would support Stevens' reinstatement to the Appropriations Committee. However, while he is under investigation Stevens should not have special say in the funding of the very agencies conducting the investigation," continued Stanley.
NJDC criticized Senate GOP Leadership for immediately penalizing Senator Craig for a homosexual sex scandal, while dragging their feet on holding Senator Vitter accountable for a prostitution scandal.
