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Isn't this Standard Operating Procedure for subsidy suckling companies?
By: Timothy P. Carney
Examiner Columnist
10/30/09 1:58 PM PDT
Here's an intriguing story from Capitol Hill:
A corporate lobbyist told Rep. Devin Nunes that a local company would move out of the congressman’s district unless the Visalia Republican supported an earmarked funding request, Nunes said today.
Nunes lodged a complaint against the lobbyist with the House ethics panel. Now, the previously secret complaint, filed more than a year ago, has become public amid broader revelations about an ongoing lobbying investigation.
Lobbyist Don Fleming formerly worked for the firm PMA, which is under scrutiny for allegedly trading campaign contributions for congressional support.
What most piques my interest about this complaint by Nunes is that this behavior by Fleming is so familiar. I've read at least a dozen stories about sports teams threatening to leave town if the city doesn't subsidize a new stadium. Boeing openly asked for bids from cities -- what sort of subsidies will you give us? -- before moving its corporate HQ from Seattle to Chicago.
It will be telling to see where this ethics complaint goes, and if it has any effect on future corporate shakedowns of taxpayers.
More from Timothy P. Carney
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- Load up 'reform' with corporate welfare, get a raise
- Wall Street slightly favors Democrats -- so the GOP must be in the tank for banks
- Paul Ryan's budget plan reflects conservative principles -- That's why Republicans are running from it
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