Rep. Mark Foley resigns House seat

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Six-term Republican Rep. Mark Foley of Florida resigned from the U.S. Congress on Friday following reports he sent sexually inappropriate e-mails to underage male congressional interns.

Foley, chairman of the House caucus on missing and exploited children, said he would resign after ABC News reported he sent messages to current and former congressional pages with references to sexual organs and acts.

"Today I have delivered a letter to the Speaker of the House informing him of my decision to resign from the U.S. House of Representatives, effective today," said Foley, who is single, in a statement.

"I am deeply sorry and I apologize for letting down my family and the people of Florida I have had the privilege to represent."

At the prompting of House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi, the Republican-led chamber asked its Ethics Committee to consider an investigation.

In addition, a congressman who helps oversee the congressional page program said Foley earlier "was not honest about his conduct."

Rep. John Shimkus, an Illinois Republican, said as chairman of the bipartisan Page Board late last year, he had been told about an e-mail exchange between Foley and a former page.

Shimkus said Foley told him "he was simply acting as a mentor ... and that nothing inappropriate had occurred."

Nonetheless, Shimkus said Foley was advised to be "especially mindful of his conduct with respect to current and former House pages and he assured us that he would do so."

Foley was the author of the key sexual predator provisions of the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006, which Bush signed in July.

ELECTION COMPLICATED

Foley's decision to resign just five weeks before the November 7 congressional election complicated Republican efforts to retain control of the U.S. House of Representatives and offered a new target for Democrats, who must gain 15 seats to reclaim a majority.

Foley won re-election in 2004 with 68 percent of the vote and was favored in November over Democrat Tim Mahoney, a local business owner.

Foley's name will remain on the ballot, which has already been certified, said Susan Smith, a spokeswoman for the Florida Department of State. But Republicans have seven days to notify election officials of a replacement nominee who would take Foley's spot if he wins, she said.

President George W. Bush carried the district with 54 percent of the vote in 2004. Democrats said Foley had been polling at under 50 percent and they would contest the seat, but Republicans said they remained confident.

"It makes it more difficult, but we can still win," said Carl Forti, spokesman for the House Republican campaign committee. "It is a Republican district."

House Speaker Dennis Hastert said Foley had "done the right thing." He said he had asked officials to look into the incident and make sure all congressional pages were safe.

Foley, who represents a district in southern Florida, was a member of the powerful House Ways and Means Committee, which oversees tax and trade policy.