Rep. Kirk on Ethics

Read Mark Kirk's 10-Step Program to fix Congressional Ethics

What He Says

"Cunningham and Ney will get theirs, but Congress will produce other felons - a few, quite soon, perhaps. The legislative branch should act to protect its own integrity."
(Mark Kirk's Website)

"I think there is widespread acceptance that we have to toughen up our ethics rules," Kirk said.
(Chicago Tribune, 12/23/05)

Rep. Kirk said of DeLay's scandal-driven resignation as Majority Leader: "Now that we've made the difficult decisions on new leadership...we need to make systemic reforms to our ethics policies."
(Chicago Tribune, 1/8/06)

Rep. Kirk said he was concerned about the ability of foreign governments to donate large amounts of soft money to political parties, and called it a national security issue. "If we leave these kinds of exceptions open, other governments can start to play politics in the U.S."
(Chicago Tribune, 7/11/01)

His Votes

1/7/03 - Voted to weaken the congressional gift ban. Kirk supported a measure that allowed lobbyists to cater meals in the House and permitted charitable organizations to pay for members to attend fundraisers. (H Res 5, House Vote 4)

2/13/02 - Opposed a Ban on Foreign Campaign Contributions (HR 2356, House Vote 30, R 157-59; D 2-208,)

7/12/01 - Voted For GOP Rules Designed to Defeat Campaign Finance Reform (HR 2356, House Vote 228, R 201-19; D 1-208)

Repeatedly voted to shield Tom DeLay from the consequences of his behavior. Voted to change Congressional ethics rules to prevent an ethics complaint against Tom DeLay. He later voted to reverse the rule changes. He also voted to end an investigation of DeLay. (H Res 5, House Vote 6, 1/4/05; H Res 240, House Vote 145, 4/27/05; H Res 845, House Vote 526, 10/8/04)

Voted to end investigations into the Abramoff scandal. Kirk repeatedly voted to close investigations of potential misconduct by members of Congress regarding convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff. (H Res 746, House Vote 76, 3/30/06; H Res 762, House Vote 87, 4/5/06)

Voted twice against creating a bipartisan task force to restore public confidence in the House ethics process. (H Res 153, House Vote 70, 3/15/05 and H Res 213, House Vote 106, 4/14/05)

Sources of Funds

Accepted contributions from:

Tom DeLay. Kirk accepted $1,000 from Tom DeLay's Congressional campaign and $15,000 from his leadership PAC between 2000 and 2001. (Federal Election Commission)

Co-conspirators in the Duke Cunningham bribery scandal. He accepted $5,000 from the PAC of Wilkes Corp, one of the companies involved with the Cunningham scandal. He also accepted $1,000 from Cunningham's PAC. (Chicago Tribune, 2/21/06; Federal Election Commission)

Individuals indicted in a hospital bribery scandal. (Federal Election Commission; Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 5/10/05)

William Strong, who has a history of corporate crime and mismanagement. (Federal Election Commission; Crain's Chicago Business, 4/14/05; Wall Street Journal, 5/16/05; Associated Press, 5/18/05)

Accepted campaign contributions from:

Pharmaceutical PACs - over $77,000. (Federal Election Commission)

Insurance companies - over $74,000. (Federal Election Commission)

Oil, gas and energy PACs - over $85,000. (Federal Election Commission)