KITING SCANDAL CLAIMS SECOND HOUSE ALUM

Former Kentucky congressman Carl Perkins today pleaded guilty to charges stemming from the House Bank scandal -- the second House member to fall victim in the affair. Perkins reportedly wrote 514 checks on the House Bank with insufficient funds to cover them. The bank gave House members overdraft protection but didn't charge for the service. Perkins pleaded guilty to defrauding the House Bank and other financial institutions, Justice Department officials announced. Perkins fraudulently obtained bank loans through check kiting at the House Bank and five other financial institutions in 1990, the government said. Perkins, 40, a Democrat, represented the 7th congressional district, a mountainous, coal region in eastern Kentucky, from 1984 to 1993. Former Representative Carroll Hubbard, Jr.(D-Ky) has pleaded guilty to three felonies in connection with the same scandal.Post your opinion on theWashingtonbulletin board.