Crew Releases Fourth Annual Most Corrupt Members of Congress Report -- Reps. Vern...

Crew Releases Fourth Annual Most Corrupt Members of Congress Report -- Reps. Vern Buchanan and Tom Feeney Included in Crew's Fourth Annual Most Corrupt Members of Congress Report

WASHINGTON--(Business Wire)--
Today, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW)
released its fourth annual report on the most corrupt members of
Congress.

CREW's Most Corrupt Members of Congress provides a detailed
analysis of the unethical and sometimes illegal activities of 24
congressmen and women who have most egregiously betrayed the public's
trust.

CREW also has launched the report's tandem website,
www.CREWsMostCorrupt.org, which offers short summaries of each
member's transgressions as well as the full-length profiles and all
accompanying exhibits.

New to this year's study are Reps. Marsha Blackburn, Vern
Buchanan, Vito Fossella, Dan Lipinski, Charlie Rangel, Laura
Richardson and Mike Turner, and Sens. Mary Landrieu and Norm Coleman.

Of this year's list of 24, at least 12 are under investigation:
Ken Calvert, John Doolittle, Tom Feeney, Vito Fossella, William
Jefferson, Jerry Lewis, Alan Mollohan, Gary Miller, Tim Murphy, Rick
Renzi, Don Young and Ted Stevens. One other, Charlie Rangel, is under
a self-initiated House ethics committee investigation.

Melanie Sloan, executive director of CREW, said today, "With
soaring gas prices, a housing market in crisis, rising unemployment,
and a nation at war, elected officials should be prioritizing their
constituents' needs over their own self-interests. Unfortunately, the
members of Congress listed in CREW's Most Corrupt report have decided
that their personal needs are paramount to those they represent. This
report holds them accountable for those choices."

The 21 most corrupt members of Congress

-- Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-FL)

-- Rep. Ken Calvert (R-CA)

-- Rep. John T. Doolittle (R-CA)

-- Rep. Tom Feeney (R-FL)

-- Rep. Vito J. Fossella (R-NY)

-- Rep. William J. Jefferson (D-LA)

-- Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-LA)

-- Rep. Jerry Lewis (R-CA)

-- Rep. Daniel Lipinski (D-IL)

-- Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY)

-- Rep. Gary G. Miller (R-CA)

-- Rep. Alan B. Mollohan (D-WV)

-- Rep. Timothy F. Murphy (R-PA)

-- Rep. John P. Murtha (D-PA)

-- Rep. Steve Pearce (R-NM)

-- Rep. Charles B. Rangel (D-NY)

-- Rep. Rick Renzi (R-AZ)

-- Rep. Harold Rogers (R-KY)

-- Sen. Ted Stevens (R-AK)

-- Rep. Michael Turner (R-OH)

-- Rep. Don Young (R-AK)

Dishonorable mentions

-- Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN)

-- Sen. Norm Coleman (R-MN)

-- Rep. Laura Richardson (D-CA)

Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington
Naomi Seligman, 202-408-5565

Copyright Business Wire 2008