Two of the newly elected Republican Hispanic lawmakers, Sen.-elect Marco Rubio and Rep-elect David Rivera, both of Florida, start their tenure in Washington with lingering questions about their personal finances.
According to a report in the Washington Post, they are two of four Republicans who still have unanswered questions and controversy.
Rivera was forced to make changes to his financial disclosure reports earlier this fall when local Miami press began asking questions. The then-candidate listed that he had received income from work he did for the U.S. Agency for International Development, however USAID had no record of Rivera working for them.
Marco Rubio, who won his senate seat in a three-way race, faced questions throughout his campaign about improper use of Florida Republican Party credit cards for personal expenses including repairs to his family’s minivan.
And during the summer, a house that Rubio and Rivera jointly owned was in foreclosure.
While individually, none of the question poses a big problem for those involved, the large issue of ethics in Congress could be a headache for the leadership of both parties. Recently, two prominent members of the Congressional Black Caucus faced investigations by the House Ethics Committee and watchdog groups are pressuring incoming speaker, John Boehner, to retain the independent review committee started when Democrats took control of Congress in 2006.
I hope they can put this behind them because Florida needs them to represent
them effectively in a bipartisan manner and not just push through what Boehner
offers because the Congressman from Ohio really has shown very little intelligence,
imagination or respect for the average American in his public announcements.