Lawmakers Helped Tribes Get Federal Money

[ProSense]

Lawmakers Helped Tribes Get Federal Money
By JOHN SOLOMON and SHARON THEIMER, Associated Press Writers
10 minutes ago

WASHINGTON - More than a dozen members of Congress intervened to help Indian tribes win federal school construction money while accepting political donations from the tribes, their lobbyist Jack Abramoff or his firm.

The lawmakers hailed from both parties, including House Appropriations subcommittee Chairman Charles Taylor, R-N.C., and Sen. Byron Dorgan (news, bio, voting record) of North Dakota, the top Democrat on the Senate committee currently investigating Abramoff.

Most wrote letters that pressed a reluctant Bush administration to renew a program that provided tribes federal money for building schools. Others worked the congressional budget process to ensure it happened, according to documents obtained by The Associated Press.


snip...

In all, Burns collected nearly $150,000 in Abramoff-related donations between 2001 and 2004. Two of his Senate staffers also accepted an Abramoff-arranged trip to the 2001 Super Bowl in Florida.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20051124/ap_on_go_co/tribes_letters___dollars


Wow!