REAL D.C. SCANDAL IS 'RUNAWAY SPENDING,' PENCE SAYS

WASHINGTON - The Republican Congress is "all sizzle and no steak"
when it comes to GOP promises to cut federal spending, rein in big
government and restore ethics and honesty to government, Rep. Mike
Pence, R-6th, told a crowd of conservative activists Saturday morning.

But he said there's "reason for optimism" because of a
budget-trimming bill that was signed into law a week ago and moves
toward tightening ethics rules in Congress.

Pence cautioned the audience at the three-day Conservative Political
Action Conference, which drew more than 1,000 attendees, not to turn
their backs on Republican congressional candidates this year out of
disgust with the GOP-led Congress. Congress under Democratic control
would be worse, he said.

"In my five years in Congress, despite all their talk about deficits
and the national debt, I have never seen the Democrats bring a bill
to the floor that wasn't a lot bigger and a lot more intrusive than
what we Republicans were selling," Pence said.

Pence said it's good that Congress is planning to change its rules in
response to the lobbying and bribery scandals, but he said "such
tinkering does not substitute for genuine restoration of honesty and
integrity. ... True servants of the people do not need to be
compelled to keep their hand out of the cookie jar."

"But as we reform our rules of ethics," he said, "we will do so with
the understanding that these are but symptoms of the core problem.
The real scandal in Washington, D.C., is runaway government spending.

"Fiscal integrity and moral integrity are inseparable issues. You
can't complain about the sharks while you're holding a bucket of chum."

Pence's speech was reminiscent of an address he made at the same
conference two years ago in which he criticized President Bush for
proposing a broad expansion of the federal education programs and
creation of prescription drug coverage for Medicare recipients. Then,
he complained that "the ship of conservative governance is off course."

Two years ago, Pence said Saturday, he thought his party leadership
had just made "honest but flawed" decisions. "I no longer believe
that. It's one thing to drift off course. It's quite another thing to
continue that course when half the crew and passengers are pointing
out that nothing looks familiar, not to mention the tens of millions
of Americans lining the shoreline screaming, 'You're going the wrong
way!' "

In addition to Pence, the conservative group heard from Vice
President Cheney, the chairman of the Republican Party, several
members of Congress and nearly 150 other speakers, panelists and moderators.

One panel on the war on drugs drew the ire of Rep. Mark Souder,
R-3rd, who said conservatives should refuse to speak at the event
because the panel was top-heavy with participants who advocate a
loosening of drug laws.

He said a conservative convention should reflect conservative thought
and that proposals to legalize marijuana for medical use are not
conservative approaches.