www.pacleansweep.com

PACleanSweep today unveiled its Unvouchered Expenses Hall of Shame, a listing of all Pennsylvania lawmakers who agreed to violate Article II, Section 8 of the PA Constitution by accepting a mid-term raise through the now-infamous "unvouchered expenses." The Hall of Shame web page is part of a continuing effort by the grassroots movement to convince politicians to do the right thing by repaying the unconstitutional income.

"As long as even one of these politicians holds on to a single penny in unvouchered expenses, Pennsylvania will be in a constitutional crisis because sitting legislators remain in violation of our Constitution," said PACleanSweep Chair Russ Diamond. "The pay raise has been repealed and it's time for these people to square up."

The page calls on all Pennsylvanians to contact the lawmakers in question and "demand they come clean, provide documentation and abide by their oath to support, obey and defend the PA Constitution." The site also lists those who did not take the illegal income and asks Pennsylvanians to contact them and request new legislation requiring repayment.

"We've heard that this one changed their mind or that one promised to pay it back, but the people of Pennsylvania want proof. We're looking for pay stubs, cancelled checks or some other form of actual documentation. Until we see concrete evidence showing all 253 lawmakers are in complete compliance with the PA Constitution, everything this legislature does could be legitimately challenged."

A total of 158 lawmakers have at one time or another said they would accept unvouchered expenses. All information regarding the payments is held by the chief clerks of both the House of Representatives and the Senate. While the Clerk of the Senate has provided some information, the Clerk of the House continues to stonewall the media and the public.

"This information should be made public and freely available to any citizen who cares to look," added Diamond. "But the truth is the clerks work for the lawmakers, not the people. Who knows what other secrets they may be keeping from the public? This institution has utterly failed the people and it's time for them to go, before they do any more damage."

PACleanSweep has raised 74 candidates so far in its quest to unseat every lawmaker up for re-election in 2006 and will continue its statewide recruiting effort in the coming months.