They’re out of Congress and still out of work.
A handful of incumbents who lost last fall have yet to land new full-time jobs.
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They include former Reps. Christopher Shays of Connecticut and Nick Lampson of Texas. There’s also former New Hampshire Sen. John E. Sununu, whose latest Washington assignment is only part time.
Shays, 63, narrowly lost his bid for an 11th term to Democrat James A. Himes in November. He has gotten a painful lesson in the darker side of campaign finance. He must sort out what happened to more than $190,000 he says may have been embezzled from his failed re-election bid.
While he tackles the money mess, Shays is weighing job prospects. His onetime foe, Himes, has sought support from colleagues in urging President Barack Obama to appoint Shays to head the Peace Corps. Shays is a former Peace Corps volunteer.
“He’s busy exploring and evaluating his various opportunities and determining what his next move is going to be,” said Michael Fox, a Shays spokesman.
Lampson, a Texas Democrat, found himself out of work after failing to win a second term in a conservative Republican district. He won the seat after former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay resigned. Lampson, 64, said he’s been enjoying his time off “playing.”
Lampson, who formed the House Missing and Exploited Children’s Caucus, said he’s working to help form a nonprofit group that will use high-tech tools to search for missing people. Lampson made fighting crimes against children one of his legislative priorities after Laura Kate Smither, 12, of Friendswood, Texas, went missing in 1997 and was later found murdered.
“I’m trying to do something constructive, even though I don’t get paid for it,” said Lampson, adding that he has a few job options and will soon make a decision.
Lampson got $64,000 from a Texas County and District Retirement System pension in 2007, his House financial disclosure form shows.
Sununu, who lost his Senate seat last fall in a rematch against Democrat Jeanne Shaheen, is juggling new assignments and weighing his future.
He popped up recently on Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show With Jon Stewart” to spar over the nation’s economic crisis.
He’s also serving on the Congressional Oversight Panel for the Troubled Assets Relief Program, a part-time post monitoring the government’s bailout of financial institutions. Time Warner Cable Inc. recently announced he would join the company’s board.
Sununu, 44, has not said whether he will run for Senate again, though many in GOP circles want him to. Sen. Judd Gregg, R-N.H., has said he won’t seek re-election in 2010, which would create an open seat. – AP
