U.S. Rep. Paul
Hodes of New
Hampshire and
two House colleagues want to make sure lawmakers don’t get contributions in
return for federal earmarks, the footnotes members of Congress often use to
quietly send millions each year to special projects.
After being appointed to the Ethics Committee, Congressman Peter Welch decided to return some campaign dollars; Vermont has gotten kudos from the U.S. Senate for bringing health care into the digital age — and maintaining patients’ privacy;