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Lobbying and Ethics
Reform Blog
Wednesday, June 06, 2007
Next Step for Lobbying and Ethics Bill: House-Senate Conference Committee
BNA Money and Politics ($$) reports that the even though House-Senate conferees have yet to be named, the process is proceeding towards completing a final lobbying and ethics bill. The House Judiciary Committee and the Senate Rules Committee are working on comparing the two bills, focusing on the differences that need to be resolved. There are a few important differences, such as the absence in the House version of a provision to double from one to two years the ban on lobbying by lawmakers.
The House bill also dropped a Senate restriction on all lobbying activities--not just direct contacts--during this "cooling-off" period. The House bill also does not contain changes in Senate ethics rules that were addressed in the Senate version of the reform legislation. The rules changes include new restrictions on earmarks, secret Senate "holds," and private aircraft travel by senators. While these measures have been expected to be included in a final bill, they will not take effect until the final version is enacted.
Another issue is whether or not any changes will be made to the House ethics enforcement process, as recommendations are awaiting from a special task force. According to CQ ($$), one such recommendation would be to let anyone, not just a member, file an ethics complaint. Another proposal would be to create a panel of four people that would review complaints and decide whether or not the cases are serious enough for a full investigation by the ethics committee.
Meanwhile, Norman Ornstein writes this opinion piece in Roll Call ($$) reviewing the overall process of the House passing a lobbying and ethics bill.
The lobbying reform was tough. Its journey was tortuous. It is a sad reality that if the reform package had been decided in a secret ballot vote, it would have gone down. Way too many Members do not want to discomfit their lives with embarrassing inconveniences such as disclosure of fundraising connections or to dilute or delay any future gravy train for post-Congress employment in the lobbying world — a world where half of all retiring Members of Congress now go.
Posted by Amanda Adams
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