House cools on lobbying reform
Tuesday, February 21, 2006
Printable FormatCHICAGO TRIBUNE
By Jill Zuckman
Some lawmakers leery of banning perks, earmarks
WASHINGTON - In the days after former superlobbyist Jack Abramoff pleaded guilty to fraud, tax evasion and conspiracy to bribe public officials, lawmakers on Capitol Hill rushed to the cameras and promised to quickly pass sweeping reforms limiting lobbyists' influence.
"I believe that to regain the trust of the American people that this institution must go further than prosecuting the bad actors," House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) told reporters. "We need to reform the rules so it's clear beyond a shadow of a doubt what is ethically acceptable for members of Congress."
Just a few weeks later, the rush to reform has slowed significantly, particularly in the House. Since those days in mid-January, House leaders have heard a barrage of concerns from representatives about going too far, particularly from those who don't want to give up privately funded travel and those who want to continue the practice of "earmarking," setting aside money in spending bills for favored projects.
Waiting out the storm?
Lawmakers reluctant to give up free meals, tickets to sports events and other lobbyist-provided perks may need to see more indictments before agreeing to move forward, said Larry Noble, executive director of the Center for Responsive Politics, a non-partisan watchdog group.
"Right now, a number of members are betting on the public losing interest and getting away without any new reforms," Noble said.
Fred Wertheimer, president of Democracy 21, an advocacy group for lobbying and campaign finance reform, said lawmakers have entered "the reality stage" of the fight as they begin to realize what they would have to give up.
"I just think we've reached a stage here where the blowback from people who want to maintain the status quo of lobbyists paying for the pleasures of their life is now out on the table," Wertheimer said.
Hastert has promised Republican lawmakers that any reform plan would go through "regular order," allowing representatives to offer amendments in as many as five committees before legislation reaches the floor. Plans for a bill by the House leadership that would go directly to a floor vote were quickly shelved.
The election of Rep. John Boehner of Ohio as the leader of the House Republicans reflects the prevailing mood. Boehner favors modest reforms but has warned against going too far.
"In the past when these scandals have erupted, what's happened is Congress has overreacted and two days later nobody knew what happened," Boehner said on "Fox News Sunday."
The reluctance to make big changes in part reflects how entwined private groups have become with lawmakers' work. Some argue that's not all bad.
Private organizations fly members of Congress to various places so they can learn about nuclear power, international relations or some other issue. While the trips may be luxurious and the sponsoring organizations generally have an agenda, some say they are worthwhile nonetheless and cost the taxpayers nothing.
As for earmarks, they are widely derided as "pork." But supporters say no one knows districts as well as their representatives, so it makes sense for them to direct money to important projects there.
Congressional leaders say they want to enact a reform package by the end of March, but it is not clear whether that will be possible.
Kirk predicts tough reforms
Rep. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.), who is pushing to eliminate pensions for lawmakers convicted of felonies, said the legislation will be hard to oppose publicly despite the closed-door grumbling.
"My read on this is that regardless of people's concerns in private, when we get to the House floor, we will have an overwhelming majority for very hard-line reform," Kirk said.
While the reform zeal has slowed in the House, it does not seem to have diminished in the Senate. A bipartisan group including Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Barack Obama (D-Ill.) has been working on legislation that could serve as the basis for a final Senate bill.
That proposal may include a ban on lobbyist-funded meals, gifts and travel; greater disclosure of earmarks that are considered in House-Senate conference committees; and greater disclosure by lobbyists and senators of their interactions.
Obama, a top Democratic spokesman on the issue, rejected the argument that Congress has enough rules on the books and that they simply need to be enforced vigorously.
"Even if current rules are enforced, there are too many opportunities with lobbyists to influence policy in ways that hurt ordinary citizens," said Obama, who is pushing for an independent panel to investigate ethics complaints against lawmakers.
Senators on both sides of the aisle say they are frustrated with the public's low opinion of Congress.
"People right now have a dismal view. It should make us all pause," said Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-Maine). "This is something we can't be complacent about."
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Reform proposals
Senate bipartisan group
- Ban all lobbyist-funded meals, gifts and travel.
- Greater disclosure of "earmarks" directing money to a lawmaker's favored projects.
- Greater disclosure by lobbyists and senators of their interactions.
House Democrats
- Require filings by lobbyists quarterly, instead of every six months.
- Make records accessible electronically to the public in a searchable a database, cross-referenced with campaign finance disclosures.
- Increase from one to two years the waiting period before a member of Congress or senior staff could lobby Congress directly.
- Require organizations sponsoring congressional travel to attest that the trip was not at the request of a lobbyist or foreign agent, and that the organizations did not get money from another source to pay for the trip.
House Republicans
- Ban privately paid trips for members of Congress.
- Revoke privileges of former members of Congress to lobby on the House floor while representatives are voting and use of the Capitol's members-only gyms.
- Eliminate congressional pensions for members convicted of a felony.
- Increase from one to two years the waiting period before a member of Congress or senior staff could lobby Congress directly.
- Impose a "significantly stronger" gift ban, with "stronger and more frequent" lobbyist disclosure.