President Bush gave his State of the Union Address on Tuesday night, and as usual, Illinois lawmakers split along party lines in their critiques of his speech. Jerry Weller stated that he was pleased to see that energy policy was a main part of the president's speech. Weller believes that the main issues facing our government are national security, environment, and economy - which all touch on energy in some way. (http://www.lincolncourier.com/story.asp?SID=226&SEC=8)

Tom DeLay relinquished his claim to the title of House Majority Leader. The two candidates for the position, Roy Blunt and John Boehner, are giving major contributions to their collegue's campaigns in order to secure their endorsement. Jerry Weller was one of several Republicans who received $5,000 from Blunt, and has since publicly pledged his support for him. (http://www.hillnews.com/thehill/export/TheHill/News/Frontpage/020206/donations.html)

Ethical Concerns

http://www.belleville.com/mld/belleville/news/politics/13736807.htm

Republican Jerry Weller is facing a lot of ethical questions because of his marriage to a Guatemalan senator over a year ago, which is the first time a member of Congress has ever married a foreign lawmaker. Because of possible conflicts of interests, Weller has promised to stay out of any Guatemalan issues. When human rights activists came to Weller for help after hurricane Stan went through Guatemala, Weller refused to get involved. He did however, help give the Central American Free Trade Agreement a victory in the House, which benefits several nations including Guatemala. John Pavich, Weller's democratic opponent, has already voiced his concerns regarding the ethics of Weller's vote on the trade agreement.

Currently, Weller is a member of the tax-writing Ways and Means Committee, as well as the International Relations Committee, in which he is vice chairman of the Western Hemisphere subcommittee that includes Guatemala. Some groups have asked him to step down from the International Relations Committee because his wife's father was once a dictator in Guatemala. Despite this, Weller's spokesman says he is keeping his promise to stay out of any Guatemalan issues and is doing the right thing ethically and morally. The executive director of the Grundy Country Chamber of Commerce in Morris says that there has not been a change in how Weller supports or attends events since his marriage. The only issue that seems to be of real concern is that Weller will overcompensate and go too far in avoiding Guatemalan issues.