[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 16]
[House]
[Page 21520]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                    ELIMINATE PAY-TO-PLAY CONTRACTS

  (Mr. QUIGLEY asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. QUIGLEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to discuss H.R. 3427, the 
State Ethics Law Protection Act.
  In a day and age where indictments and allegations of wrongdoing have 
become all too common, in fact, in Illinois, people read the scandal du 
jour in their newspaper. In this event, many States and local 
governments have enacted laws to eliminate awarding contracting based 
on pay-to-play, a practice of trading campaign contributions for 
lucrative government contracts.
  Sadly, a loophole in the Federal Highway Administration's contracting 
requirements is making it difficult, if not impossible, for States to 
implement these anti-corruption laws if they want to continue to 
receive Federal highway support. It is up to us in Washington to make 
sure that our constituents are best served and their taxpayer dollars 
are being spent wisely.
  By amending the Federal Highway Administration's contracting 
requirements, we in Washington can ensure that States have every tool 
at their disposal to encourage and ensure transparency and 
accountability. Please join me in supporting H.R. 3427, the State 
Ethics Law Protection Act, to ensure our dollars are being spent 
efficiently and effectively.

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