A letter to Congressmen Waxman and Stupak

Congress is on a witch hunt to try and embarass executives at all of the major insurance companies and gather information about their business.

This is ridiculous.

So, I drafted the following letter which I will be sending to my reps and to Congressman Waxman and Congressman Stupak.

Congressman Waxman and Congressman Stupak,


Recently the Congress sent letters requesting information from insurance companies regarding executive pay and bonus structure, bonuses and salaries paid, along with information regarding profit from different aspects of their business. As an American I am always encouraged when the government supports transparent and open policies.

It is in that vein that I would like to request documentation from the Congress regarding the following items. Please include all requested information for all years encompassing the 105th through 111th Congresses.

(1) Information regarding earmarks. Including, but not limited to
a. Which congressional member requested all earmarks whether finally approved or not.
b. Which congressional member received campaign contributions directly or indirectly tied to companies, firms, or organizations who received any earmarks or other forms of government assistance.
c. As well detail any travel, dinners, parties, or fundraisers that were hosted or sponsored by any organization, company, or firm which received tax payer funds.

(2) Information concerning Congressional travel. Include detailed and itemized information in regards to all of the following:
a. Per diems received by Congressional members. How and where those per diems were spent and a detailed list of excess funds which are required to be returned if not needed.
b. A list of congressional trips taken during the 105th – 111th Congress, including all trips that were funded through public or private means. Any travel that may have already been detailed in Section (1) should be noted again here as well.
c. Please clearly state all congressional members, family, and friends who were also present during such trips and the purpose for each attendee.
d. As well state the over all purpose for each congressional trip and provide justification for repeated trips to and from Washington D.C. in excess of one round trip per month. Please include all travel and provide dollar approximations for accommodations made to Congressional members through the Air Force and give written justification why Congressional members needed Air Force assistance, rather than taking readily available commercial transportation.
(3) A detailed accounting of all funds associated with Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid and a detailed plan for returning all of the funds that have been “borrowed” from these accounts for the last seven decades.

Being an understanding member of the electorate, I will allow you until the end of the calendar year to provide the above information. I may request further information from you on all of the included topics, after all, we are all interested in finding and eliminating wasteful spending during this financial crisis.

I would like to state that in the future all such information should be readily available and included in one of the governments myriads of web pages. As a concerned citizen I am sure that you will understand our desire for brilliant light to shine into the practices of our elected officials.

Best regards,

Keith Jones
www.keithjonesblog.com