Bush, lawmakers returning Abramoff donations

President Bush and several lawmakers have announced they are refunding or giving to charity some or all of the donations they or their political action committees received from once-powerful lobbyist Jack Abramoff, his associates or clients.

Abramoff pleaded guilty Tuesday to three federal charges as part of an agreement with prosecutors requiring him to cooperate in a broad corruption investigation into members of Congress.

The following is a list of politicians who have announced they will return or donate funds received.

This week:

• President Bush, $6,000 from Abramoff, his wife and the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe of Michigan for the Bush-Cheney 2004 re-election campaign is being donated to the American Heart Association. Abramoff raised at least $100,000 for the campaign.
• House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill. A spokesman would not say much money Hastert received or planned to donate.
• House Majority Leader Roy Blunt, R-Mo., $8,500 to charity.
• Former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Texas, $15,000 to local charities in suburban Houston.
• Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., $2,000 will be returned to the Michigan Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe.
• Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin, D-Ill., $11,000 to the American Indian Center of Chicago and the American Indian Health Service of Chicago.
• Maryland Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. (Republican), $16,000.

Senate Republicans:

• Kit Bond, R-Mo., $12,500 to the Salvation Army.
• Jim Bunning, R-Ky., $1,000 to the St. Elizabeth Medical Center inpatient hospice program.
• Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga., $1,000 to the Georgia National Guard Family Support Foundation.
• Thad Cochran, R-Miss., $8,000 to the Mississippi Hurricane Recovery Fund.
• Norm Coleman, R-Minn., $3,000 to be refunded or for charity.
• Elizabeth Dole, R-N.C., $1,000 to charity.
• Mike Enzi, R-Wyo., $1,000 to charity.
• Judd Gregg, R-N.H., $12,000 to Marguerites Place.
• Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., $5,000 refunded. Isakson also donated $4,000 to the Salvation Army in December.
• Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., refunding $4,000 to three Indian tribes.
• Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., $18,500 to the Wayside Christian Mission.
• Rick Santorum, R-Pa., $2,000 to charity.
• Gordon Smith, R-Ore., $8,500 to be refunded or for charity.
• Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, $16,500 to charity. Stevens also donated $1,000 to the Alaska chapter of the Red Cross in December.
• John Sununu, R-N.H., $3,000 to charity.
• Jim Talent, R-Mo., $2,000 to be refunded. Talent also refunded $3,000 in August 2005.
• Craig Thomas, R-Wyo., $8,000 to victims of the 2005 tornado in Wright, Wyo.
• John Thune, R-S.D., $2,000 to White Buffalo Calf Woman Society.
• John W. Warner, R-Va., $1,000 to charity.

Senate Democrats:

• Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., $2,000 to charity.
• Tim Johnson, D-S.D., $8,250 to Billy Mills Running Strong for American Indian Youth.
• Barbara Mikulski, D-Md., $5,000, to the American Indian College Fund.

House Republicans:

• Rodney Alexander, R-La., $2,000 to charity.
• Dan Burton, R-Ind., $19,000 to charity.
• Dave Camp, R-Mich., $500 to charity.
• Chris Cannon, R-Utah, $2,000.
• Eric Cantor, R-Va., about $10,000 to the William Byrd Community House.
• Barbara Cubin, R-Wyo., $250 to charity.
• Thomas M. Davis III, R-Va., amount uncertain.
• Kay Granger, R-Texas, $2,000 to Boys and Girls Club of Greater Fort Worth.
• J. Randy Forbes, R-Va., $1,000 to charity.
• Melissa Hart, R-Pa., $2,000 to two women’s shelters.
• J.D. Hayworth, R-Ariz., $2,250 to the Salvation Army Katrina Disaster Fund.
• Sam Johnson, R-Texas, $2,000 to the Dallas-Fort Worth USO.
• Walter Jones, R-N.C., $1,000 to Salvation Army.
• Donald Manzullo, R-Ill., $2,000 to be returned to the Mississippi band of the Choctaw Indian tribe.
• Jim McCrery, R-La., $35,000 to the Salvation Army.
• Marilyn Musgrave, R-Colo., $1,000 to Crossroads Safehouse.
• Bob Ney, R-Ohio, $9,000 to charity.
• Tom Petri, R-Wis., $11,000 to charity.
• Chip Pickering, R-Miss., at least $2,500 to the Mississippi Hurricane Recovery Fund.
• Deborah Pryce, R-Ohio, $8,000 to charity.
• Hal Rogers, R-Ky., $32,000 to the UNITE Foundation.
• Paul Ryan, R-Wis., $949 to USO Operation Phone Home.
• Jim Saxton, R-N.J., $7,000 total refunded in 2004, 2005 and 2006.
• Bill Shuster, R-Pa., $1,000 to charity.
• John Sweeney, R-N.Y., $2,000 to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
• Curt Weldon, R-Pa., 2,000 to charity.
• Jerry Weller, R-Ill., at least $500 to charity.
• Roger Wicker, R-Miss., $250 to Mississippi Hurricane Recovery Fund.
• Heather Wilson, R-N.M., $1,000 to the Great Southwest Council of the Boy Scouts of America.

House Democrats:

• Henry Cuellar, D-Texas, $500 to be returned to the Tigua tribe of El Paso.
• Peter DeFazio, D-Ore., $1,500 total to be returned to the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians in California and the Michigan Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe.
• Eliot Engel, D-N.Y., $1,000 to be returned to the Saginaw Chippewa Tribe.
• Lane Evans, D-Ill., $2,000 to Community Caring Conference.
• Tim Holden, D-Pa., $1,000 to an animal shelter.
• Nita Lowey, D-N.Y., $2,000 to be refunded.
• Earl Pomeroy, D-N.D., $6,950 to be refunded.
• Charles Rangel, D-N.Y., $2,000 to charity.

December 2005:

• Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., $18,892 to seven tribal colleges.
• Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kan., $42,000 to charity.
• Sen. Conrad Burns, R-Mont., about $150,000 donated to Native American charities and refunded.
• Sen. Kent Conrad, D-N.D., $3,750 to North Dakota’s tribal colleges.
• Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., $67,000 refunded.
• Rep. Ernest Istook, R-Okla., $6,000 to the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation.
• Rep. Denny Rehberg, R-Mont., $19,900 refunded and given to charity.

August-November 2005

• Rep. Mike Ferguson, R-N.J., $1,000 to the Children’s Specialized Hospital Foundation.
• Rep. Frank LoBiondo, R-N.J., returned $1,000.
• Rep. Ralph Regula, R-Ohio, $1,000 to the American Indian College Fund.
• Rep. Rob Simmons, R-Conn., $1,250 to the Bush-Clinton Katrina Fund.

February 2002

• Sen. David Vitter, R-La., $6,000 refunded.