Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren: Where Do YOU Stand on Hearings Into the USA Swimming Sex Abuse Scandal?

Last week the office of Congressman Mike Honda of California’s 15th Congressional District, including San Jose, told this blog that he has begun looking into “formal action” to address the mounting scandal of coach sexual abuse and cover-up at USA Swimming – “including but not limited to Congressional hearings.”

This week, through communications director Duncan Neasham, I submitted a two-part query to Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren of the neighboring 16th District – also “ground zero” of the unfolding horror stories of molesting coaches:

(1) Have you or your staff, like Congressman Honda’s, met with constituent-victims or their advocates?

(2) What do you say in response or in addition to Honda’s statement?

No answer.

To which I say: Jump into the pool, Ms. Lofgren, the water’s fine! Well, not fine, exactly – it’s foul from the rancid actions and inactions of our Congressionally sanctioned U.S. Olympic Committee’s national governing body. But ready for appropriate oversight by our elected leaders.

For whatever it’s worth, Lofgren is not listed as a member of the informal Honda-chaired Congressional Anti-Bullying Caucus. At the bottom of this post is the list of 59 members, all of whom will be canvassed on the swimming sex abuse issue. I mean no disrespect to the value of anti-bullying education when I assert that kid-on-kid cruelty is not as urgent as evidence of widespread and systematic molestation by adult authority figures in open amateur sports.

*****

My journalistic colleague Tim Joyce informs me that his scheduled interview today on Baltimore’s WBAL Radio was pulled by station management, which also removed from its website Joyce’s exclusive report on sex abuse allegations against a coach at Michael Phelps’ North Baltimore Aquatic Club. More on this developing story when I hear further from Brother Joyce.

Irv Muchnick

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Congressional Anti-Bullying Caucus – Members (59 Members as of October 1, 2012)

Rep. Mike Honda, Chair

Rep. Joe Baca

Rep. Charles Bass

Rep. Madeleine Bordallo

Rep. Lois Capps

Rep. Russ Carnahan

Rep. Judy Chu

Rep. David N. Cicilline

Rep. Hansen Clarke

Rep. Wm. Lacy Clay

Rep. Steve Cohen

Rep. John Conyers

Rep. Gerald Connolly

Rep. Susan Davis

Rep. Robert Dold

Rep. Donna F. Edwards

Rep. Keith Ellison

Rep. Eliot L. Engel

Rep. Raul Grijalva

Rep. Luis Gutierrez

Rep. Janice Hahn

Rep. Alcee L. Hastings

Rep. Brian Higgins

Rep. Jim Himes

Rep. Kathy Hochul

Rep. Eleanor Holmes-Norton

Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee

Rep. William Keating

Rep. Barbara Lee

Rep. John Lewis

Rep. Frank LoBiondo

Rep. Dave Loebsack

Rep. Nita Lowey

Rep. Carolyn Maloney

Rep. Betty McCollum

Rep. James McGovern

Rep. Gregory Meeks

Rep. Frank Pallone Jr.

Rep. Bill Pascrell Jr.

Rep. Gary Peters

Rep. Jared Polis

Rep. Nick Rahall

Rep. Silvestre Reyes

Rep. Laura Richardson

Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen

Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard

Rep. Gregorio Kilili Camacho Sablan

Rep. Linda Sanchez

Rep. Loretta Sanchez

Rep. Bobby Scott

Rep. Jackie Speier

Rep. Pete Stark

Rep. Ed Towns

Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz

Rep. Maxine Waters

Rep. Melvin Watt

Rep. Henry Waxman

Rep. Frederica Wilson

Rep. Lynn Woolsey