House Republican Press Release

May 30, 2008

Press Office: 860-240-8700

HOUSE REPUBLICAN LEADER CAFERO SAYS CLOSED DOOR ETHICS MEETING WRONG APPROACH

HARTFORD – House Republican Leader Lawrence F. Cafero Jr. today said Democrats are negotiating a deal to resolve the impasse over ethics reform behind closed doors and without the participation of Republicans despite publicly calling for bipartisan support for the plan.

“The Democrats have shown no interest in having Republican input into the ethics reform bill that they claim they want to pass. The Democrats held a press conference two weeks ago and said they would be reaching out to Republicans. Now we learn they are meeting in secret behind closed doors,’’ Cafero said, referring to the published report that disclosed that House and Senate Democrats met on the issue Thursday.

Cafero said no one in his office has heard anything from the Democrats who have brawled over the reforms that failed to pass during the regular legislative session. The bill failed by just a few votes in the House but was passed unanimously in the Senate.

Cafero and others blamed the House Democrats for the bill’s failure because they sought to protect corrupt public employee union members from losing their pensions while revoking retirement accounts from elected public officials found guilty of the same crimes. It was that two-tier provision that doomed the legislation.

“We could have had an ethics bill this year but for the House Democratic leadership that insisted on protecting corrupt public employee union members and treating elected officials more harshly,’’ Cafero said. “And the Democrats are back again behind closed doors but they claim to want to resolve these issues in an open, bipartisan manner. The facts do not support their rhetoric.’’