"...No Member, officer, or employee shall knowingly use his official position to introduce or aid the progress or passage of legislation, a principal purpose of which is to further only his pecuniary interest, only the pecuniary interest of his immediate family, or only the pecuniary interest of a limited class of persons or enterprises, when he, or his immediate family, or enterprises controlled by them, are members of the affected class."
-Standing Rules of the Senate - Rule XXXVII (4) Conflict of Interest
"...As I travel across Indiana, one of the biggest concerns raised by my fellow Hoosiers is the rising cost of health care. Seniors are concerned about the spiraling cost of prescription drugs, families are struggling to meet increasing premiums and businesses – especially small businesses - are worried about their ability to continue providing health insurance to their employees and their families. Everyone should have access to quality, affordable health insurance, and I will continue fighting to make this goal a reality.”
-Senator Evan Bayh (D-Indiana)
Much has been written this week on Hillary Clinton and Bill Clinton divesting their portfolios so that no potential conflict of interest charges can be leveled at Mrs. Clinton in her chase for the presidency. Although this is noble in nature, the Clintons should have kept the money where it was. This seems to be just business as usual in Washington and throughout the halls of Congress.
When the Dubai ports controversy came to light, it was found that former President Bill Clinton was a paid advisor to the Dubai government. In true Clintonesque style, the Clintons were able to make political hay out of the situation, showing that she was willing to oppose her husband’s professional interests by introducing legislation that would prohibit the transactions. Mr. Clinton may have made a little extra on the deal trying to smooth things over, although the deal was eventually abandoned by Dubai.
Democrat Evan Bayh is the junior senator from Indiana. Elected in 1998, he is the son of the former Senator Birch Bayh. In 1995, he married former Eli Lilly corporate attorney Susan Breashears. Since that time, according to Forbes, Susan Bayh has served on the board of directors of health industry related corporations, including Wellpoint, the largest US health insurer, and Esperion Therapeutics Inc., a unit of Pfizer Inc.
Wellpoint merged with Indianapolis-based Anthem in 2004, making the newly formed Wellpoint the country’s largest health insurer. Susan Bayh served as a director of Anthem from 1998 through May, 2003 and has served as a director at Wellpoint since 2001.
In the case of the Clintons, it is difficult to determine the level of influence a spouse has on public policy, although conflict of interests charges seem to follow them wherever they go. It’s the same with the Bayh family, although the potential for conflict of interest is quite apparent.
Article comments
1 - moonraven
I am afraid this is silly. The only reason that folks run for office is to be able to peddle their influence and take bribes and kickbacks.
2 - Marcia L. Neil
A federally-funded education R&D think tank in San Francisco, CA, during the 1970-1980s had the 'D' word as the first name of an employee. The 'S' word is also a first name together with the 'E' word as the full name of a real person living near a northwest PA dammed reservoir.