Elizabeth Dole’s Unfree Speech : Lecture fees of Senate leader’s wife cause a flap

Elizabeth Dole’s career as a public speaker has been indisputably lucrative. From 1991 through 1994, she earned in excess of $875,000 on the rubber chicken circuit. A former secretary of labor and of transportation, an appointee of five presidents, now on temporary leave as president of the American Red Cross, Dole is an obvious draw. She speaks from personal experience on the need for volunteerism and the shape of America’s labor force. But equally obvious is that she commands speaking fees often as high as $20,000 because of her husband, Sen. Bob Dole.

That connection should cause Mrs. Dole to pause before accepting invitations from groups with an obvious and immediate stake in matters before Congress. Apparently it has not.

Indeed, an analysis of the Doles’ income statements by Times staff writer David Willman raises questions about the couple’s veracity as to where her speaking fees ended up. It raises even more disturbing questions about the appropriateness of these generous engagements for the spouse of the Senate majority leader.

Sen. Dole says he doesn’t know what groups his wife has addressed, and his spokesman insists, “No one gains Bob Dole’s favor by hiring his wife.” Perhaps so, but these groups may well gain his ear; some said they invited her because of her husband. At least 16 groups that engaged Mrs. Dole had business before the federal government. In some cases, congressional action favorable to these organizations occurred after her appearance. For example, after Mrs. Dole spoke to the American Society of Travel Agents--for a $35,000 fee--Sen. Dole called on the Justice Department to examine the decision by airlines to cap agent commissions, a move the group sought.

Then there’s the issue of the Doles’ truthfulness about the disposition of the speaking fees. Sen. Dole, in income statements filed over the last four years, said that all of Mrs. Dole’s speaking fees were contributed to a Red Cross charity account--except for “taxes, a contribution to a retirement fund and speech-writing expenses.” However, records indicate that the Doles have kept a substantial part of those fees--$147,663 from 1991 through 1994. Only in 1993 did Mrs. Dole donate all of her speaking fees to the charity, minus taxes, expenses and a contribution to her retirement fund.

Mrs. Dole is not the first political wife with an independent career. Like any other working spouse, she is certainly entitled to pursue her separate interests. But like anyone married to a public official, she should observe the highest standards of candor and avoid even the appearance of a conflict of interest related to family connections. Such candor and care seem to have been lacking here. Dole: $875,000 for her speeches.