Thursday, June 28, 2007

Conferees Tied to Party Spending Issue

As already noted, Republicans will only go along with naming conferees for the ethics and lobbying bill if the Senate takes up the Senate electronic filing bill along with an unspecified amendment. According to BNA Money and Politics, ($$) that amendment likely deals with lifting controls on political party coordinated spending to help candidates. This item has already been introduced as a separate legislative proposal, S.1091, the Campaign Accountability Act of 2007 which would "repeal the limitation on party expenditures on behalf of candidates in general elections." Because Democrats have not seen the amendment they have not agreed to vote on it.

Observers closely following the progress of the lobbying and ethics bill suggested that McConnell could be seeking to score a victory for a piece of legislation favored by Republican as a condition for allowing the lobbying and ethics bill--a major Democratic priority--to move toward final passage. Alternatively, Republicans might be seeking to soften some of the more controversial provisions of the lobbying and ethics bill itself, such as tough new restrictions on the "revolving door" between government service and lobbying or new disclosure requirements for lobbyists' "bundled" campaign contributions.

Meanwhile, the New York Times is wondering why the GOP is refusing to name conferees.

It's not clear what games might be under way. Are K Street lobbyists staging a last-ditch fight against finally disclosing their fund-raising clout with lawmakers? Are Republicans trying to foil Democrats from delivering on their campaign promises last year for credible reform?