Majority whip criticizes Foley handling

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WASHINGTON, Oct. 5 (UPI) -- The U.S. House Majority Whip, Rep. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., has joined the chorus of critics of the way his party handled the Mark Foley congressional page scandal.

Blunt said more attention should have been paid to an incident in August 2005 when a 16-year-old male page received an "over-friendly" e-mail from then Rep. Mark Foley, R-Fla.

The boy's parents complained through their Republican representative, but said they didn't want to pursue the matter.

"I think I could have given some good advice here, which is, you have to be curious, you have to ask all the questions you can think of," Blunt told the Washington Times. "You absolutely can't decide not to look into activities because one individual's parents don't want you to."

When news broke last Friday of Foley's history of messaging pages, he resigned, and entered an alcohol rehab program Monday.

House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., has since come under calls from Democrats and Republicans alike to resign for not treating the issue more seriously, but he has refused to step down.