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Feeney sought a rule change Abramoff wanted

Busted!

Rep. Tom Feeney insists he never helped convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff, but in 2003 Feeney was among several lawmakers who wrote to the Energy Department opposing changes to a federal program that also were being fought by an Abramoff client....

Five months later, Abramoff treated a small group of people, including Feeney, to a luxury golf trip to Scotland that began with a trans-Atlantic flight on a private jet and featured twice-daily golf at world-famous locales.

Of course, this is no smoking gun.  But it sure does remind one of the actions Bob Ney and Tom DeLay took to help Abramoff in advance of their own Scotland golf trips...and we can't forget where those two ended up.

The excuse, of course, is that the Energy Department's proposed rule change to update guidelines on energy efficient windows and doors would affect manufacturers in the 10 Republican Congressmens' districts.  Feeney's district does include one large window and door manufacturer who may have been affected by the rule change (interesting note: Rep. John Doolittle also signed onto the letter).  Despite their efforts and the opposition of Abramoff's client Atofina Chemicals, the change was enacted.

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Tags: Tom Feeney, Abramoff, ethics in government, Energy Star (all tags)


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