IV 
111TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. RES. 312 
Raising a question of the privileges of the House. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
APRIL 1, 2009 
Mr. FLAKE submitted the following resolution; which was laid on the table 
RESOLUTION 
Raising a question of the privileges of the House. 
Whereas The Hill reported that a prominent lobbying firm, 
founded by Mr. Paul Magliocchetti and the subject of a 
‘‘federal investigation into potentially corrupt political 
contributions’’, has given $3.4 million in political dona-
tions to no less than 284 Members of Congress; 
Whereas the New York Times noted that Mr. Magliocchetti 
‘‘set up shop at the busy intersection between political 
fund-raising and taxpayer spending, directing tens of mil-
lions of dollars in contributions to lawmakers while steer-
ing hundreds of millions of dollars in earmark contracts 
back to his clients.’’; 
Whereas a quest columnist recently highlighted in Roll Call 
that ‘‘. . . what [the firm’s] example reveals most clearly 
is the potentially corrupting link between campaign con-
tributions 
and 
earmarks. 
Even 
the 
most 
ardent 
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earmarkers should want to avoid the appearance of such 
a pay-to-play system.’’; 
Whereas multiple press reports have noted questions related 
to campaign contributions made by or on behalf of the 
firm; including questions related to ‘‘straw man’’ con-
tributions, the reimbursement of employees for political 
giving, pressure on clients to give, a suspicious pattern 
of giving, and the timing of donations relative to legisla-
tive activity; 
Whereas Roll Call has taken note of the timing of contribu-
tions from employees of the firm and its clients when it 
reported that they ‘‘have provided thousands of dollars 
worth of campaign contributions to key Members in close 
proximity to legislative activity, such as the deadline for 
earmark request letters or passage of a spending bill.’’; 
Whereas the Associated Press highlighted the ‘‘huge amounts 
of political donations’’ from the firm and its clients to se-
lect Members and noted that ‘‘those political donations 
have followed a distinct pattern: The giving is especially 
heavy in March, which is prime time for submitting writ-
ten earmark requests.’’; 
Whereas clients of the firm received at least $300 million 
worth of earmarks in fiscal year 2009 appropriations leg-
islation, including several that were approved even after 
news of the FBI raid of the firm’s offices and Justice 
Department investigation into the firm was well known; 
Whereas the Associated Press reported that ‘‘the FBI says 
the investigation is continuing, highlighting the close ties 
between special-interest spending provisions known as 
earmarks and the raising of campaign cash.’’; and 
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Whereas the persistent media attention focused on questions 
about the nature and timing of campaign contributions 
related to the firm, as well as reports of the Justice De-
partment conducting research on earmarks and campaign 
contributions, raise concern about the integrity of Con-
gressional proceedings and the dignity of the institution: 
Now, therefore, be it 
Resolved, That— 
(1) the Committee on Standards of Official 
Conduct, or a subcommittee of the committee des-
ignated by the committee and its members appointed 
by the chairman and ranking member, shall imme-
diately begin an investigation into the relationship 
between the source and timing of past campaign 
contributions to Members of the House related to 
the raided firm and earmark requests made by 
Members of the House on behalf of clients of the 
raided firm; and 
(2) the Committee on Standards of Official 
Conduct shall submit a report of its findings to the 
House of Representatives within 2 months after the 
date of adoption of the resolution. 
Æ 
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