By CHARLES BABINGTON, Associated Press Writer
July 30, 2007
WASHINGTON - Lawmakers pushing pet projects would have to
shed more light on stealthy spending under legislation that
Democratic leaders will try to move through the House and Senate
this week.
The proposal, hailed by several open-government advocates,
would require senators seeking so-called "earmarks" in
spending bills to identify themselves and their proposed projects
in publicly available data bases at least 48 hours before the
Senate votes on them. They also would have to certify that
they and their immediate family members have no financial interest
in the proposed earmark.
In January the House made similar changes to its rules governing
earmarks.
The legislation, if approved, would mark Congress' most far-reaching
reactions to recent scandals, including those of former lobbyist
Jack Abramoff and former Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham,
R-Calif. Both men are now in prison, having been convicted
of corruption charges that in some cases involved congressional
earmarks.
The legislation, released Monday and scheduled for a House
vote Tuesday, "is landmark lobbying and ethics reform,
and we strongly support it," said Fred Wertheimer, a longtime
advocate of tougher ethics rules and director of Democracy21.
"This legislation will, for the first time, provide the
public with information about the various ways in which lobbyists
and lobbying organizations provide financial support and assistance
to help members of Congress," he said.
Meredith McGehee, policy director of the Campaign Legal Center,
said the bill "makes good on the promises of greater transparency
from the new leadership."
"Opponents may claim they want a stronger bill," she
said, but opposing it "would go far beyond letting the
perfect be the enemy of the good."
But Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., said the bill "guts key
earmark reforms that both houses of Congress approved overwhelmingly."
He particularly objected to a revision that would allow committee
chairmen or the Senate majority leader not the Senate parliamentarian
to rule on whether earmark disclosure requirements have been
met. Dissident senators would not be able to challenge the
accuracy of the ruling, but they could try to strike an unreported
earmark by offering an amendment.
Democrats promised a crackdown on lobbying abuses when they
campaigned in 2006 against a "culture of corruption" in
Congress, then controlled by Republicans. The new Democratic-controlled
House and Senate quickly embraced tighter guidelines on lobbying,
spending and fundraising in January. But efforts to reconcile
differences and send a bill to the president bogged down in
subsequent months.
Democratic leaders, eager to fulfill their campaign promise
before the August recess, are pressing members to pass the
measure quickly.
The bill would require lawmakers to disclose those lobbyists
who raise $15,000 or more for them within a six-month period
through a popular practice known as bundling. Bundlers solicit
campaign checks from numerous people, but their efforts often
go undetected under existing campaign finance disclosure laws.
Earlier versions of the bill would have required lobbyist-bundlers
to disclose their contributions to federal candidates. But
many lawmakers preferred to control such reports themselves.
Lobbyists would, however, have to disclose payments they make
to presidential libraries, inaugural committees or organizations
controlled by or named for members of Congress.
The measure would place some new limits on presidential candidates.
Like senators, they would have to report bundled donations
from lobbyists and pay full charter fare when traveling on
private airplanes.
House members and candidates would be barred from accepting
trips on private planes.
The new bill also would:
-Prohibit lobbyists and their clients from giving gifts, including
meals and tickets, to senators and their staffs. The House
adopted a gift ban in January.
-Bar lawmakers from attending large parties given in their
honor by lobbyists at national political conventions.
-Bar lawmakers and their aides from trying to influence hiring
decisions by lobbying firms and others in exchange for political
access.
-Require former senators to wait two years before lobbying
Congress in person. An earlier Senate version included a broader
two-year ban on all lobbying activities, including those that
do not involve direct contacts with lawmakers. Ex-House members
would have a one-year "cooling off" period.
-Deny retirement benefits to members of Congress convicted
of bribery, perjury or similar crimes
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(In accordance with Title
17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed
without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest
in receiving the included information for research and
educational purposes. BadConcress.com has no affiliation
whatsoever with the originator of this article nor is BadCongress.com
endorsed or sponsored by the originator.
|
