Dianne Feinstein, Country’s Most Powerful Sugar Momma

Posted by: Avinash on Thursday, May 3rd, 2007

We brought this up a few weeks earlier, and kinda dismissed it as the usual political yapping from the extreme wings, but now it seems that there is indeed something to it. Dianne Feinstein, seen here trying to keep her skin from falling off her power-corrupting face, is now facing serious ethics charges while she’s (viola!) chairman of the Rules and Administration Committee. Ahh, the irony just writes itself in Washington.

As chairperson and ranking member of the Military Construction Appropriations subcommittee (MILCON) from 2001 through the end of 2005, Feinstein supervised the appropriation of billions of dollars a year for specific military construction projects. Two defense contractors whose interests were largely controlled by her husband, financier Richard C. Blum, benefited from decisions made by Feinstein as leader of this powerful subcommittee.

Each year, MILCON’s members decide which military construction projects will be funded from a roster proposed by the Department of Defense. Contracts to build these specific projects are subsequently awarded to such major defense contractors as Halliburton, Fluor, Parsons, Louis Berger, URS Corporation and Perini Corporation. From 1997 through the end of 2005, with Feinstein’s knowledge, Blum was a majority owner of both URS Corp. and Perini Corp.

While setting MILCON agendas for many years, Feinstein, 73, supervised her own staff of military construction experts as they carefully examined the details of each proposal. She lobbied Pentagon officials in public hearings to support defense projects that she favored, some of which already were or subsequently became URS or Perini contracts. From 2001 to 2005, URS earned $792 million from military construction and environmental cleanup projects approved by MILCON; Perini earned $759 million from such MILCON projects.

Alright, this isn’t as exciting as Foley-gate, or the unfolding D.C. Madam scandal, but this is pretty bad. Feinstein, one of the original supporters of the Iraq War, a war that has financially benefited her husband and her estate, could be facing serious calls over her misappropriation of funds. Didn’t her pal Nancy Pelosi promise to make this the most “ethical Congress” in history? Now’s her chance.

Oh, This Would Be Ironic In So Many Ways
Senator Feinstein’s Iraq Conflict [CREW]

(Image from Dean’s World)



Topics: Bay Area, Politics

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