Quigley Speaks Out About Anti "Pay-to-Play" Bill

Monday, September 14th, Congressman Quigley spoke on the House floor calling on his fellow members to support H.R. 3427, the State Ethics Law Protection Act.

You can view the speech on our YouTube page by clicking here.

The full text of the Congressman's speech is as follows:

Thank you Mr. Speaker. I rise today to discuss H.R. 3427, the State Ethics Law Protection Act.

In a day and age where indictments and allegations of wrong-doing have become all too common, in fact in Illinois people read the scandal du'jour in their newspaper. In this event, many states and local governments have enacted laws to eliminate awarding contracting based on "pay-to-play," a practice of trading campaign contributions for lucrative government contracts.

Sadly, a loophole in the Federal Highway Administration's contracting requirements is making it difficult, if not impossible, for states to implement these anti-corruption laws if they want to continue to receive federal highway support.

It is up to us, in Washington, to make sure that our constituents are best served and their taxpayer dollars are being spent wisely. By amending the Federal Highway Association's contracting requirements, we, in Washington, can ensure that states have every tool at their disposal to encourage and ensure transparency and accountability.

Please join me in supporting H.R.3427, the State Ethics Law Protection Act, to ensure our dollars are being spent efficiently and effectively. Thank you.