Perverted Ethics Reform

From American Action Progress - click here to view more...

They Really Don't Want Ethics Reform
April 26 , 2006

Lawmakers seem to have forgotten the recent exploits of Jack Abramoff , Duke Cunningham , and Tom DeLay . They have also evidently forgotten their promises to the American public to clean up corruption on Capitol Hill.

Tomorrow the House will debate a right-wing lobbying reform bill that is rather devoid of any reform. As USA Today notes, "[Lawmakers] hope to pass the plan this week and then, with the glowing pride of grandees doling pennies to the poor, con the public into believing they're actually giving up enough of their prized perks to make a difference."

There are a host of things missing from the lobbying bill - items that would actually give the bill some bite.

The bill up for debate has no restrictions on lavish gifts. The Jack Abramoff scandal showed the extent to which lobbyists were willing to go to influence lawmakers. Rep. Tom DeLay (R-TX) was the lobbyist's skybox guest at sporting events and his staff was flown to the Super Bowl and to the U.S. Open. Federal prosecutors have charged Abramoff and his partner, Michael Scanlon, with providing Rep. Bob Ney (R-OH) "a stream of things of value," including trips, tickets to sporting events, and meals at Abramoff's restaurant, in return for Ney's support for certain legislation. Congressmen also often used executive jets to travel around the country. Tomorrow's bill doesn't address any of that and "would leave the current gift limits unchanged."

The bill is also lacking the necessary lobbyist transparency. In January, Rep. David Dreier (R-CA), the main author of the lobbying bill, saw the need for [g]reater transparency, greater disclosure " of lawmakers' contacts with lobbyists. But in the months between then and now, Dreier seems to have abandoned this. Dreier's bill contains loopholes that "so narrowly defines what qualifies as a fundraising event for a member of Congress that it will be easy to design campaign fundraisers that do not meet the definition, and therefore will not have to be disclosed ." Under this bill, lobbyists could continue to pay $25,000 or $50,000 for a fundraiser , with no oversight.

The revolving door out of Congress into lobbying needs to be slowed. Common Cause notes that nearly 50 percent of lawmakers go onto lucrative lobbying jobs , often lobbying their former colleagues. A companion piece of legislation to today's lobbying bill would require administration officials to wait at least two years after they leave office before becoming lobbyists. But unfortunately, there is no legislation to create a similar two-year waiting period for lawmakers. If Congress truly wants to clean up its act, it should start with slowing down the revolving door between ex-Congressmen and K Street.