Now, says former U.S. Rep. Mark Foley, it all makes sense!
In late 2005, Republican Mark Foley found his Democrat ex-colleague Anthony Weiner's enthusiasm for a bill he was trying to introduce a little misguided.
"He came up to me over and over again for me to cosponsor his bill," Foley said. "The way in which he was excited about it was pretty weird. He'd corner me in a hallway and say: 'Mark, how 'bout it? You've got to get on this with me.' I'd rarely been lobbied like that for anything. He kept at it for months."
What was Weiner's life-changing legislation about?
Weiner, according to congressional records, wanted to alter immigration laws to make it
easier for foreign fashion models to live in the United States.
"If you tie that to his porn girlfriend, now it all makes sense," Foley said.
Last week, Weiner, who represented the New York boroughs of Queens and
Brooklyn, resigned the congressional seat that had been his for 12 years
after tweeting sometimes-obscene photos of himself to women, including
an ex-porn star.
Newlywed Weiner -- who was known to be very
active on the D.C. dating scene -- also carried an online sexual
relationship with a Las Vegas casino worker.
Ironically, blue
text messages also felled Foley in 2006. He resigned the Palm Beach and
Martin counties seat he held for 11 years when his sexy electronic
exchanges with young male congressional pages surfaced.
But now,
Foley says, he understands why Weiner wanted to endear himself to the
fashion industry by letting as many as 1,000 foreign models a year into
the United States.
"More dates, I guess," Foley said.
According
to congressional records, Bill H.R. 4354 would have created a new
temporary visa category specifically for catwalkers who could
demonstrate "distinguished merit and ability."
The bill stood out
that year for several reasons. First, Weiner's main focus in
legislation he introduced was strengthening ties between the United
States and Israel as well as making it harder for Arab countries to
reinforce their relations with America.
And then, unlike Weiner's
other bills, H.R. 4354 didn't find any cosponsors -- except, briefly,
for Miami Beach-based U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen. Ros-Lehtinen
withdrew her support as the bill reached an immigration committee in
2006 and died.
So why didn't Foley let Weiner have his fun?
"It's
very dicey to pass industry-specific legislation," Foley said. "Next
thing you know, gardeners and lumberjacks want their own visas. He
wanted my support because of the Florida connection to the fashion
industry.
"But my thing was: Aren't there enough hot women in the United States? It's not like our runways are empty!"
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