Tom Davis hides behind Big Oil again

By: Andrea Chamblee
Published On: 1/19/2007 4:30:28 PM

Cross posted on DKos

I started my first diary here when Tom Davis (VA-11) said he "never took a nickel" from oil companies." When he made that statement, he had taken over over $1.25 million from energy PACs.

Davis also turned the Government Reform Committee into a meaningless exercise, consolidating subpoena power in himself alone as Chairman, issuing fewer than 5 subpoenas during a period of unimaginable fraud and waste, and arranging for firms to hire his wife to coach them for any hearings he did have.  He defended his inability to find his own balls while he was sitting on the pile of all that money by saying he held extensive hearings on the failure of oil companies to pay royalties for drilling in public parks. Yesterday, he voted against the royalties.

Does someone with Davis's character deserve to reach his goal to take over Sen. Jim Webb's title as VA's junior senator?
On the campaign trail in 2006, Davis took credit for any progress in energy and environmental policy since 1998 by saying he held hearings on the very issue of royalties for drilling on public land that was covered by this bill.  See an example in the debate  here.

By the way, the Higham/OHarrow series on the costs of the failure of Davis's Committee to oversee corruption continues on page A1 in WaPo today.

From WaPo, all voting dates 18Jan07:

Vote number--Act name----Davis Vote-GOP Position--Dem Position
Vote 40: Creating Long-Term Energy Alternatives for the Nation No No Yes
Vote 39: Creating Long-Term Energy Alternatives for the Nation No No Yes
Vote 38: Creating Long-Term Energy Alternatives for the Nation Yes Yes No
Vote 37: Creating Long-Term Energy Alternatives for the Nation No No Yes
Vote 36: Providing for the Consideration of H.R. 6, Creating Long-Term Energy Alternatives for the Nation No No Yes
Vote 35: Providing for the Consideration of H.R. 6, Creating Long-Term Energy Alternatives for the Nation No No Yes

Comments



Tom Davis accepts cash to cancel oversight (Andrea Chamblee - 1/21/2007 2:23:33 AM)
There are two more installments in the series from Robert O'Harrow and Scott Higham. According to this story, at GSA, where Tom Davis forced out Angela Styles for friend and felon David Safarian, Lurita Doan took over. Doan was a very friendly donor to Davis when he was RNCC Chair; the Doan family gave $153,215 to Republicans and over $40,000 to Davis's RNCC in 2002. At GSA, for the second time in her federal career, Doan illegally bypassed her own staff to provide a no-bid contract to a friend.

Although the Post states that three Committee members signed a letter asking for an explanation of the fraud, they don't dare embarrass Tom Davis by saying Davis, the Committee Chair, was not bothered enough by the stink to be one of the signers. The letter asking for an explanation was signed by minority Committee members Waxman, Holmes-Norton, and Obserstar.

On her way out of GSA, Styles had said "There is still not a lot of oversight in some areas of our contracting system, and I think it will haunt us."  Done.