Explosive Abramoff Report Implicates White House Officials

The House Government Reform Committee, of which I have been a member for many years, a few days ago released an explosive report released on the degree to which convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff influenced White House officials.

The 95-page report by the committee, fashioned largely on a bipartisan basis, reveals extensive contacts and previously unreported influence that Abramoff wielded in the Administration.

Just when I thought I had seen and heard it all, this extraordinary report explicitly depicts the pathetic depths to which the influence peddlers and their friends have fallen. I am sickened by the contents of this report and the public corruption it graphically displays. Even though several people involved in this scandal have pled guilty to criminal offenses, this report demonstrates that our system has run amok. Congress has failed seriously to address this problem, and I hope this report will convince the Republican leadership that lawmakers must fulfill our obligation and end this intolerable and outrageous abuse.