Raising the Bar on Ethics

The Hill: (Heard on Fox New, Special Report)

Several lawmakers took a post-election trip to a luxurious Caribbean resort that may have breached House ethics rules because of corporate involvement.

Against a backdrop of corporate logos, two of the lawmakers thanked Citigroup, Pfizer, IBM and AT&T for their roles. The ethics committee approved the trip, but the rules bar lawmakers from taking trips lasting more than two days if corporations are underwriting or organizing any part of them.

[fast forward to the 9th paragraph to learn who was on the trip]

Other members of the Congressional Black Caucus who attended the conference at the sun-swept, 10-acre Sonesta Maho Beach Resort in St. Martin included Reps. Carolyn Kilpatrick (D-Mich.) and Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.), chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee.