Word: foley
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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...House of Representatives last week, he was feeling anything but contrite. Although the Massachusetts Democrat had been named as one of the biggest abusers of the now defunct House bank, having issued 140 bad checks, he wasn't interested in apologizing. Early chose to blame the boss instead. Tom Foley's handling of the issue, he claimed, was nothing short of a "disgrace." Growled Early: "Mr. Speaker, face the issue...
...confessed to constituents that he had overdrawn his account at least 160 times. By week's end, more than 75 members of Congress had fessed up to using the privilege, but some of the most chronic abusers remained silent. Even the leadership has not been spared embarrassment: Speaker Tom Foley kited a $540 check for stereo equipment, and House minority whip Newt Gingrich wrote bad checks at least three times...
...Foley and his fellow Democratic leaders badly misjudged popular outrage over the cozy banking arrangements -- particularly during a recession, when making ends meet is so difficult for ordinary people. Opinion polls indicated that the public could not understand how Congressmen making $125,100 a year had so much difficulty balancing their checkbooks. Republicans seized on the issue, knowing that public contempt for Congress would be especially damaging to the Democrats, who enjoy a 102-seat majority in the House. Maverick G.O.P. presidential candidate Pat Buchanan, for example, began blasting "those check-kiting boodling Congressmen" and called for appointment...
Fearing his party would pay disproportionately at the polls in November, Foley had foolishly tried to control the damage by releasing only the names of the worst offenders. But the very "fairness" doctrine he invoked was undermined by the complicated rules drawn up by the ethics committee, under which the names of many habitual check abusers would have remained secret. "We should have come clean right away. Instead, we fought to protect people whose transgressions were not as bad," says an aide to one top Democrat. "Now the Republicans look like good guys, and we're accused of a cover...
Congressional leaders concede that many of the more flagrant abusers may be voted out of office because of the scandal. In the meantime, Foley seems to be doing his best to ensure that Russ avoids paying a higher price for his failure. The Speaker has promised Russ that he can stay on for three months, probably as a "consultant." That is the amount of time he needs to become eligible for his pension...