Residual Forces

DFL Rep. Colin Peterson (MN-7) seems to be a little frustrated with SOTH Pelosi because she grounded him.

A House prohibition against taking trips on corporate jets, approved this month, has turned into a headache for some lawmakers. The rule forbids House members from boarding any “non-governmental airplane that is not licensed by the Federal Aviation Administration to operate for compensation or hire,” unless they are traveling to a fund-raising event.

Most private planes aren’t licensed that way. That means that the dozen or so House members who are pilots would violate the rule by flying their own aircraft. Rep. Dennis Rehberg, a Republican from Montana, however, is free to continue flying. He flies a rented Sikorsky helicopter. The ban applies only to “fixed-wing” aircraft.

So if a Congressman owns their own plane, they can’t fly it.

The rule “was written by people who don’t know the difference between private planes and corporate planes,” says Rep. Collin Peterson, a Democrat from Minnesota, who has stopped flying his own four-seat propeller plane across his 400-mile-long district.

DFLer Peterson was a good Democrat though and voted for this bill as did everyone, because this was one of the first 6 “100 hours” bills that Pelosi rammed through with no committee hearings or Republican input. It was take it or leave it, whether you like it or not. Now in order to have common sense in the laws, members of Congress now have to go back and fix their own mistake.

You do notice of course that Pelosi made sure you could still fundraise though. Tell me again how that  is going to change anything? Buying votes isn’t just done through official junkets. The special interest groups will now just dump even more money into members of Congress’ campaign coffers. In fact that will be much more effective in influencing who votes and what way they do.

Just like john McCain’s Finance laws actually made campaign financing worse, Pelosi has now funneled corruption to campaigns. Way to clean up Congress Nancy.