Letters cause ethics complaint
W ftMIlNli I UN (At ) — A
congressional watchdog group
accused House Majority (vender
Dick Armey on Wednesday of
improperly allowing a special
interest group to circulate a let
ter on congressional stationery.
Tlie Ralph Nader-led Congres
sional Acc.ountability Projec t
called for on ethics committee
investigation
A spokesman for the Mouse's
No H Republic an rejected the
acc usation, calling the corn
plaint "frivolous
The group’s c omplaint, whk b.
it wants n House member to
refer to the; ethics comm it test?,
stems from a May 22 Washing
Inn Post editorial that c riticired
Armey for a letter to Hii chief
executive offic ers of some of the*
nation’s largest companies
In the letter signed April 12,
the Texas lawmaker warned that
the c corporations. through their
donations to charitable c auses,
were "among companies that
support expansion of the wel
fare state."
The Congressional Account*
ability Project contends that
Armey's letter which says
"Congress of the United States"
at the top and notes his majori
ty leader title violates a
House prohibition against allow
ing outside groups to use House
letterhead
The letter was sent by the
Capital Research Center, a con
servative group that published
a book entitled "Patterns of Cor
porate Philanthropy." The lawk,
sent to the CMOs along with
Armey's letter, contends that
corporations support left lean
ing ( haritable causes far more
than conservative ones
"Majority Leader Armey is
just one more career politic tan
w ho can't tie trusted to obey the
law," said Nader
Armey's spokesman, bd Gille
spie. said Armey "did not use
the of fit ial congressional letter
head and he is allowed to iden
tify himself ns the House major
ity lender tier.nose that is what
he is."
Asked if the distinction of
what constitutes an official let
terhead might not be lost on the
Inter's reci(dents. Gillespie said
"The House ethit s committee
will look at this and we are con
fident the letter is completely
w ithin the bounds of the House
rules."
Official letterhead or not.
House rules also prohibit mem
bers from allowing outsiders to
use any stationery imprinted
with the words (iongross of the
1’nited States' or lion si- of
Representatives” both of
which ure on Armey's letter
"It's impossible to dispute
{thot 1 this letter conveys the
impression it's an official com
munication." said Gary Rusktn,
director of the Congressional
Accountability Project
Midwest rivers expected to recede
(AIM With the Midwest \ rant < linked rivers about
to begin receding, attention to mod Wednesday to
federal offo inis attd how ima.lt disaster aid they
would make available Residents nod authorities
also i onlintied cleanup operations
In St l otus, tint Mississippi River stood at 40 1
feet, nltout 10 feet above flood stage It was ex per t
ed to itegin falling Thursday.
The Missouri River crested in St Charles Coun
ty at 33.2 fix'!, ft.2 feet above flcxid stage, and was
also expected to In^giu going down Thursday.
"It looks like we may be coming out of the
woods, said Petra Haws, emergency dirm tor in St
('.harles County.
Scattered showers wore exp** ted across Missouri
through Saturday, but they will not significantly
affect river levels, the National Weather Servii «
said
Ai ross Missouri and Illinois, people continued
to < lean up after the floods, while in Colorado
I----*-1
authorities had to contend with rod and mild
sluies triggered by the wet weather
In Nebraska, there was still danger, particularly
in the northeast. where the Klkhorn River was ris
f
"There's nothing we can do but wait and see
what happens," said )a< k Smalley, whose home
was less than 2 feet from the water on
Wednesday,
In Missouri, state officials waited to hoar from
Washington whether M flood ravaged counties
would be eligible for federal aid. and James bee
Witt, director of the Federal Kinergency
Management Agent y. took another look, at the
region by helicopter
A de< ision from President Clinton is not
etpei ted for at least a week, Witt said
Some 30 roads in low-lying areas remain closed
in St. Charles County alone, and it could lie two
weeks before they reopen. Haws said
~i
Deaf teen-ager wants
to live with interpreter
WILMINGTON. N.C. {AI*)
- A <)»■«f teen-ager who says
her IVIrents refuse to learn sign
language pleaded with 0 judge
Wednesday to let her live per
manontly with her interpreter.
Her father argued that he
could "stomp (hisjfoot and
point" to communicate, or
write letters
Sonya Kinney, lfi. said in
an interview that the most
frustrating moment i ame two
years ago. when she tried to
tell her mother she hod been
abused by her stepfather
"She didn't understand me,
! toid her tail she didn't under
stand me." Sonya said in sign
language. Instead, she said,
she told her interpreter. foanie
Hughes
Hughes is seeking perma
nent custody of Sonya, whose
parents are divorced No
charges were filed against the
stepfather, who died recently.
Sonya began living with her
father, Norman Kinney. in fan
nary after telling social work
ers of the abuse. A month lat
er, her father agreed to let her
move in with Hughes. Then
he changed his mind, and the
legal Tight began.
Kinney acknowledged in
court Wednesday that he
didn’t learn sign language but
said he was able to communi
cate with his daughter.
"1 always done the best 1
could 1 could stomp my foot
and point to something. I
admit when she was younger
I had a hard time communi
cating with her," Kinney tes
tified Ho wrote letters as shu
grew older. ho said.
If there was a major prob
lem. "I would go to the school
and havp ihp interpreter tell
nu* what was bothering her,"
Kinney said
Outside court. .Sonya threat
ened to run nwav if the court
makes her live with her father
"if l have to live with my
dad. I'm alone all the time,"
tlie girl said as Ms. Hughes an
interpreter for the New
Hanover County school sys
tem. tmnslatitd
During the hearing, a court
hired sign-language intoqiretor
translated everything said in
the courtroom for Sonya, ns
well as her testimony from the
witness stand.
Sonya said she asked her
mother, Christine Kinney
Estes, "about 20 times" to
learn sign language, and "she
ignored me." Estes did not
attend the hearing.
Kinney's attorney, John
Burns, argued that Sonya's
skill at sign language showed
that her parents were trying to
help her by letting her spend
so much time with Hughes.
Hughes told District Judge
Shelly Holt that Kinney has
a history of neglecting his chil
dren and is in trouble with the
law Sonya has said she is
afraid of her father's drinking
Kinney says he no longer
has a drinking problem. The
self-employed painter is
accused of stealing from
George and Mary Hanson, a
couple who hired him to paint
their home and who let Kin
ney live in their basement.
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