Rep. Waxman (Cal.), ranking Democrat on House Govt. Reform Commit...

Rep. Waxman (Cal.), ranking Democrat on House Govt. Reform Committee, asked Commerce Dept.’s Inspector Gen. last week to open investigation on contributions that industry lobbyists made to Oct. 2001 party for NTIA Dir. Nancy Victory. Waxman’s Thurs. letter to Inspector Gen. Johnnie Frazier cited press accounts that lobbyists for Motorola, Cingular and SBC had helped pay for reception, which was attended by others in telecom industry. Waxman said Victory initially stated that 3 lobbyists had hosted party out of personal friendship for her and that they had paid for it out of their own pockets. “Subsequently, it was revealed that SBC wrote a check for approximately $480 from corporate funds to pay for the party,” Waxman said. He also noted that 10 days after reception, Victory wrote to FCC, urging repeal of what was then 45 MHz spectrum cap. “Ms. Victory did not report the reception as a gift on her financial disclosure form,” Waxman said, noting that eventually Office of Govt. Ethics provided updated advice on what should have been reported. “The Inspector General’s office has the authority to determine whether Ms. Victory acted appropriately and whether any steps need to be taken to prevent such a situation from occurring in the future,” Waxman said. He asked for Commerce IG to investigate “this matter thoroughly” and report back to committee. Victory last month submitted updated financial disclosure form for 2001 to Office of Govt. Ethics. She decided to report contributions that industry lobbyists made to party for her in response to new advice provided by OGE on how to calculate what hosts paid for party as gift, which changed outcome for what she reported (CD Jan 23 p6).