BNA Money and Politics ($$) now reports that President Bush is expected to sign the lobbying and ethics reform bill, S.1. "The officials, who asked not to be identified, told BNA that Bush still believes the measure is 'far from perfect,' but he is not likely to veto it when congressional Democratic leaders send him the measure in September. " This comes after earlier suggestions that the President may veto the bill. The bill is expected to be sent to the White House shortly after Labor Day. And if possible, check out this BNA ($$) special report, "New Rules for Lobbyists and Lawmakers," which analyzes S.1 section by section. And this Washington Post editorial, 'Expected to Sign.'

The Campaign Legal Center has updated its side-by-side comparison of the lobbying reform bills.

According to BNA Money and Politics ($$) the lobbying and ethics bill, the Honest Leadership and Open Government Act of 2007, is being further delayed until September because of concerns that President Bush may veto it. Your reaction may now be excuse me, a veto, after all this time? According to the article, a White House spokeswoman said the White House is reviewing the bill and there are some concerns with the provisions on earmarks, the revolving door, and the higher payments for air travel by federal officeholders and candidates.

Other sources said Democratic leaders are delaying sending the enrolled, final bill cleared by Congress to Bush in order to ensure there would be a chance to vote to override a veto, should it occur. If the measure were sent to the White House now and vetoed, it might not be returned to Congress for an override vote because lawmakers are adjourned until after Labor Day.

Reportedly the administration is concerned because Senators and excutive officials including the vice president would face a two year ban on direct lobbying after leaving office. The White House is also concerned with a provision that would require presidents running for re-election to pay charter air rates for campaign travel on Air Force One. All parties should make sure this bill becomes law, despite the debate on whether or not the earmark provisions go far enough. Hopefully the reform measure will become law shortly after Congress returns from recess and any suggestions of a veto are quickly dissipated.

Well now that the lobbying and ethics bill is awaiting the President's signature, many are now asking how much the legislation will actually change the way business is done. An article from today's Washington Post is appropriately titled, "Draining the 'Swamp' Is Not So Easy." For example, now that lobbyists can't buy dinner for a member of Congress, will this only force them to spend more money at political fundraisers instead?

Government watchdogs and ethics lawyers generally agree that the bill would shed new light on the Washington influence game but wonder how those who don't play ball would be found and punished. Without an effective bureaucracy for managing the flow of new disclosures provided by the law, they say, the legislation won't mean much.

And the New York Times reviews the concerns now being expressed among lobbyists and their exposure to increased risk.

By requiring them to certify the good behavior of their employees, the law puts lobbyists at new legal risk and could subject them to new pressure from prosecutors. And new centralized disclosures of lobbyists' campaign contributions, fund-raising activities and even their achievements — in the form of Congressional earmarks in spending bills — make it only easier for federal investigators to paint unflattering portraits of lobbyists' influence.

Some people regard the lobbying and ethics bill passed by Congress yesterday as the most significant congressional reform measure adopted in years. Bloomberg reported yesterday that "The U.S. Senate passed legislation that lawmakers said will provide the most sweeping changes in ethics rules in a generation."

At a time when Americans hold Washington in the lowest collective regard in decades -- with Bush and Congress running neck-and-neck for least popular of all time -- and nine months after voters, perceiving a "culture of corruption," evicted the GOP congressional majority, passage of this legislation may be coming not a moment too soon.

The votes weren't even close -- the House adopted the bill 411-8; the Senate approved it 83-14.

Now, get this, from AP: President Bush has "serious concerns" about the bill and has not decided whether to veto it, said White House spokeswoman Emily Lawrimore. I suppose the idea of being overriden by both parties in Congress is not among his "serious concerns."

Just to be on the safe side, however, the congressional leadership, which would be excused for disbelieving its ears, will hold off on sending the bill to the White House until September, so that Bush cannot pocket veto it during Congress' August recess.

Does anyone remember a certain State of the Union speech about seven months ago in which a certain president demanded that a certain Congress send him certain earmark reform legislation? Check the Yellowcake File.

This afternoon, the Senate passed the Honest Leadership and Open Government Act of 2007, by a vote of 83-14. Among the significant reforms included in the bill are the following earmarks disclosure requirements:

• all earmarks in bills, resolutions, conference reports and managers' statements must be identified and posted on the internet at least 48 hours before a vote
• Senators must certify that they and their immediate family will not financially benefit from any earmarks they've requested
• new earmarks in a conference report -- i.e., not approved by either House -- are now subject to a 60-vote point of order

As OMB Watch wrote in a release yesterday, the bill mandates "important earmark disclosure ... that, for the first time ever, will allow the public to view the sponsors of congressional earmarks on the Internet." In fact, the debate surrounding the bill has prompted members of Congress to go further on their own -- two dozen of them began posting their earmarks requests this spring, also a first and close to unthinkable as recently as a year ago.

Yesterday, the House voted overwhelmingly (411-8) to pass the Honest Leadership and Open Government Act of 2007 -- a new set of lobbying and ethics reforms of broad and, in some instances, unprecedented scope. Never before has Congress sought to require earmarks disclosure by law, for example.

OMB Watch has commented frequently on this bill, most recently here, here, and here. And today, OMB Watch issued a press release urging final passage and further reforms down the road.

It is virtually certain that the Senate will act on the bill prior to the August recess, which begins this weekend, with a vote tomorrow (Thursday) most likely. Given the House vote margin, the momentum behind the bill is so strong that, despite a 67-vote supermajority requirement, and many months of a couple of Senators' objections to some provisions in it, ultimate passage is all but assured. President Bush has indicated no opposition to the reform package.

GOP dissent in the House was muted, with the GOP divided by two schools of thought:

• Rules Committee ranking member David Dreier (R-CA): "I couldn't help but think that it is virtually identical to the measure we passed in the last Congress."
• House Judiciary ranking member Lamar Smith (R-TX) who voted for it, called the measure a "hollow shell of reform."