Nancy Pelosi in Trouble over Earmark

US Senator Diane Feinstein (D-CA) isn’t the only Democratic leader in hot water for using her influence in Congress to enrich her husband (and, potentially, herself.)  House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who promised a new era of ethics enforcement in the House of Representatives, snuck a $25 million gift to her husband in a $15 billion Water Resources Development Act recently passed by Congress.

Nancy Pelosi in Trouble over Earmark

Members of Congress regularly abuse the appropriations process by earmarking public monies to fund pet projects of special interests and donors often in their own congressional districts or states.  Earmarks are an area of the legislative process particularly susceptible to corruption.  (There were literally hundreds of these types of projects inserted into the water bill.)

***

In this case, the special interest may have been Pelosi’s wealthy husband, Paul Pelosi.  And the pet project involved renovating ports in Speaker Pelosi’s home base of San Francisco.  Paul Pelosi just happens to own apartment buildings near the areas targeted for improvement, and will almost certainly experience a significant boost in property value as a result of Pelosi’s earmark.

Pelosi, capitalizing on the public’s distaste for the earmarking process, pledged reform during the elections last fall.  The good news is that the House did reform the process a bit by requiring members to certify that they had no personal financial interests in earmarks they sponsor.  Pelosi followed the new rules and reportedly signed a form certifying that neither she nor her husband would benefit financially from the earmark.  That may not actually be the case and the Speaker’s office will have some more explaining to do. 

Tom Fitton is president of Judicial Watch, Inc., a conservative, non-partisan educational foundation that promotes transparency, accountability and integrity in government, politics and the law.