Mike Carberry's Letter In CR Gazette

Written by: Mike Carberry on Sep 26, 2006 6:26 PM EDT

Tell me, where was Leach's integrity then?

Jim Leach's campaign billboard reads, ''Integrity.''
Where was Leach's integrity when he voted for Medicare Part D in 2004? Not
part of Medicare, the partial drug prescription program is a private insurance
plan designed to profit the pharmaceutical industry.
Enrolled seniors must pay out of pocket for prescription drugs when they
reach the ''doughnut hole,'' the yearly gap in insurance coverage between
$2,251 and $5,100. By law, seniors are not permitted to purchase supplemental
insurance to cover the gap and Medicare is prevented from buying prescription
drugs at bulk rates.
Where was Leach's integrity when he voted to relax House ethics rules (HR 5)
after Tom DeLay was accused of ethics violations in 2005? Leach voted with
DeLay 83 percent of the time between Jan. 1, 2004, and March 31, 2005. Where
was Leach's integrity when he voted for the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy and
the total repeal of the estate tax that would give our most wealthy Americans
an inheritance tax break? Leach consistently voted against Democratic efforts
to raise the minimum wage that would have improved the lives of hard working
Americans.
Leach voted twice in 2005 to weaken our constitutional rights, first, in
favor of blocking funds allocated to enforce a federal court ruling regarding
the display of the Ten Commandments at a county courthouse (HR 2862).
More than 200 years of constitutional history would be extinguished by
giving power to Congress over the courts rather than the federal judiciary.
Second, Leach voted to make the Patriot Act permanent, allowing the Bush
administration to eavesdrop and conduct secret searches of private citizens.
Restore real integrity to Congress by voting to send Dave Loebsack to
Washington on Nov. 7.
Mike Carberry Iowa City

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Location: Iowa City, IA 52245