Statement, dated March 10, 2010, from Phil Troyer, Republican candidate in the 2010 primary for the 3rd District Congressional seat:
Speaker Pelosi tops Congressman Souder on Ethics
Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other House Democrat leaders announced Wednesday they were barring Members of Congress from directing federal funds to private companies. The House Republican Conference went a step farther today, adopting a complete ban on all earmarked spending requests for the remainder of the year.
The moves left 3rd District Repreentative Mark Souder in a small minority of congressmen still clinging to the corrupt practice of submitting specific spending requests for political gain. Souder, a 16-year incumbent, proudly lists 40 earmarked spending requests on his official House website and has defended the practice in response to continued criticism from Phil Troyer, his opponent in the Republican primary.
“You know its time for a change when Nancy Pelosi demonstrates higher ethical standards than your own congressman,” exclaimed Troyer. “Not only has Congressman Souder requested earmarks for several private companies, two of them (Zimmer and Raytheon) have contributed significant PAC funds to his campaign.”
“If I tried to raise campaign funds from companies by promising them millions of dollars in federal grants, I would rightly be accused of corruption,” Troyer continued. “According to Congressman Souder, it’s just business as usual in Washington.”
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