GOP Rep. Buyer, with wife ill, won't seek new term

[babylonsister]

GOP Rep. Buyer, with wife ill, won't seek new term

By MIKE SMITH
AP Political Writer


INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -- Republican Rep. Steve Buyer announced Friday that he will not seek re-election this fall and will leave Congress after 18 years because his wife is ill.

Buyer choked back tears as he stood next to his wife, Joni, on Friday, saying she had been diagnosed with an incurable autoimmune disease.

"As part of her prognosis she has been advised to de-stress her life," he said. "Now is the time for me to step back. It's been an honor."

Buyer, 51, is the top Republican on the House Veterans Affairs Committee. He was the committee's chairman for two years before Democrats won the House majority in the 2006 election.

He has faced questions in recent months about a private scholarship foundation he created that had raised more than $880,000 since 2003 without awarding any scholarships. He has defended his handling of the foundation, but didn't mention it during Friday's announcement and didn't take any questions.

more...

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_CONGRESS_BUYER?SITE=CONGRA&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

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Call me cynical, but...

CREW Files IRS and Ethics Complaints Against Rep. Steve Buyer (R-Ind.)
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x7566893

[BR_Parkway]

1. No hysterical pundits on TV yelling about how this is directly related

to the Oregon election results and questioning "what does this mean for the Republicult party in 2010?"

[T Wolf]

2. This scum bag hides behind a sick wife to avoid the flack from his fraudulent "scholarship"

program that he used for high-end golf outings at restricted country clubs.

Maybe she is just looking for a way out of a bad marriage...

[joeybee12]

3. Yeah, what a classless fool.

I hope he gets prosecuted for this scam, but I ain't holding my breath.

[Liberal_in_LA]

4. How does a scholarship foundation get away with awarding NO scholarships in 6 years?

[gratuitous]

5. Maybe Bill O'Reilly should look into that

Right now, he seems preoccupied with the Haiti disaster relief fundraiser, demanding to know how every penny is spent, even though I'd wager none of his money went in the pot, and his network didn't see fit to cover the show. But how about looking into Rep. Buyer's "scholarship" fund that raised nearly a million bucks over several years but didn't send one kid to school? Your move, Billo.

[Bandit]

6. Whatever the reason the end result is the bum is going..

New oportunity for the Democrats..