TEAMSTERS (IBT)
Hoekstra: DOJ Thwarted Teamsters Probe
Five U.S. House committee chairmen blasted the Dep't of Justice Jul.
15 for thwarting Congressional investigations and looked for new tools
to strengthen future probes. In testimony to the House Rules Committee,
the chairmen directed most of their criticism at Atty. Gen. Janet Reno.
House Gov't Reform Chairman Dan Burton (R-Ind.) led the charge accusing
Reno of "corruption" by dodging or blocking his requests for information.
The most specific reform suggestions came from Education & Workforce
Oversight & Investigations Subcommittee Chairman Peter Hoekstra (R-Mich.)
who complained that his probe of the Int'l Bhd. of Teamsters was "substantially
limited" by DOJ. Hoekstra proposed a new rule to give oversight committees
subpoena power
they now can acquire only by a vote of the full House. He also suggested
the House should entertain giving itself the power to pursue contempt of
Congress charges in court; currently, the House refers contempt actions
to the attorney general.
Burton placed all blame for the trouble on the administration's partisanship, but Judiciary Chairman Henry J. Hyde said it was "human" and endemic of the relationship between Congress and the executive branch. Hyde said DOJ went over the line in refusing to cooperate, but laid the root of the blame on the pursuit of political power. [CongressDaily 7/16/99]
In addition to the unions and organizations covered in this Union Corruption Update, readers can look forward to news and information on other corrupt and abusive unions in future editions.
All back issues of the Union Corruption Update can be viewed at NLPC's website (www.nlpc.org). Also available is a union-by-union and state-by-state index of all Union Corruption Update articles.
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Union Corruption Update is part of NLPC's Organized Labor Accountability Project which is investigating and exposing corruption and extremism in the Teamsters, LIUNA, AFL-CIO and many other union organizations. NLPC is a nonpartisan, nonprofit foundation promoting ethics and accountability in government through research, education and legal action.
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