Jerry Lewis (California politician)

Charles Jeremy "Jerry" Lewis (born October 21 1934), American politician, has been a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives since 1979, representing the 41st District of California (map). He was born in Seattle, Washington, was educated at University of California, Los Angeles, and was an insurance businessman, a staff member for Representative Jerry Pettis and a member of the California State Assembly before entering the House. Lewis is a member of The Republican Main Street Partnership and supports Stem-Cell Research.

On January 6 2005 he was named chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, which is responsible for funding all federal programs. He is the past chairman of the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee as well as the VA-HUD and Independent Agencies Subcommittee.

Lobbyist and former San Diego congressman Bill Lowery, his lobbying firm, Copeland Lowery Jacquez Denton & White, and clients have donated 37% of Lewis' $1.3 million PAC income in the past six years.^[1]

Lewis has made earmarks for over $70 million to Environmental Systems Research Institute Inc., a GIS company in his district that has paid over $320,000 to Lowery's firm. He has also earmarked funds for a Loma Linda University cancer center, also a Lowery client. Another Lowery client is defense contractor Brent Wilkes. Lowery was defeated by Duke Cunningham following his involvement in the House check kiting scandal of 1992; Wilkes is under investigation for bribing the now convicted Cunningham. Wilkes has contributed at least $60,000 to Lewis and paid over $160,000 to Lowery's firm.

According to a report in the Los Angeles Times, in 2006 the U.S. attorney's office in Los Angeles began investigating the relationship between Lewis and Lowery.

Staffers such as Jeff Shockey and Letitia White have worked for both Lewis and Lowery. Shockey left Lewis's staff in 1999 after serving for eight years to join Lowery, then returned to Lewis in 2005 as deputy staff director for the Appropriations Committee, a $170,000 job, receiving $600,000 in severance from Lowery. White, Lewis's chief of staff, left in 2003 to join Lowery's firm.

Lewis and his staff, when interviewed by the Los Angeles Times in May 2006, stood by the earmarks as important constituent services and called the L.A. Times report of an investigation "borderline slanderous".^[2]

Lewis' aide in charge of tracking defense appropriations "is a military officer on the Pentagon's payroll, an apparent violation of House rules and a possible conflict of interest"^[3]. Department of Defense regulations state that military personnel can work on committee staffs but not on the personal staff of an individual member. Lewis' aide, Marine Lt. Col. Michael Kime, has apparently worked for Lewis since 2001 while being on the Pentagon payroll. Congressional watchdogs call Kime's role a conflict of interest and defense experts state that his position may give the Marines greater leverage over contracts and earmarks in the Appropriations Committee.

On February 22, 2006 The Hill reported that the Pentagon was recalling Kime from Lewis's office. Kime's "service for Lewis appeared to violate the Members' Congressional Handbook issued by the Committee for House Administration, which defines a detailee as a 'non-congressional federal employee assigned to a committee for a period of up to one year.' The handbook also states that 'detailees may not be assigned to a member office' and cites the relevant section of U.S. law: 2 USC Section 72a(f)."^[4]

• Official website
• 2004 campaign finance data

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