Barack Obama

Senate votes to ban free meals from lobbyists

Thursday, March 9, 2006

By Jim Drinkard, USA TODAY

The Senate voted Wednesday to ban lobbyist-paid meals for its members and staff, part of broader legislation designed to restore public confidence in Congress in the midst of a lobbying-and-influence scandal.

Senators turned aside other proposals to impose tougher restrictions on the relationships between lobbyists and lawmakers, including one that would have banned travel for members of Congress financed by interests that also lobby them.

Progress on the bill stalled when Sen. Charles Schumer (news, bio, voting record), D-N.Y., injected an unrelated provision dealing with U.S. port security into the debate.

Sen. Trent Lott (news, bio, voting record), R-Miss., expressed misgivings about the lobbyist meal ban, saying it implies "that we can be had for the price of a lunch or dinner." But he concluded, "I'll be eating with my wife, and so will a lot more senators."

Supporters of tougher restrictions argued that new laws are needed to rebuild public confidence in government, which has been tattered by corruption and bribery scandals. Former lobbyist Jack Abramoff pleaded guilty in January to fraud, conspiracy and tax evasion in his dealings with Congress and his Indian tribe clients.

"It's not just the meal, it's the perception," said Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill. "It's the access that the meals get you."

A USA TODAY/CNN/Gallup Poll Feb. 28-March 1 found that 59% of Americans are "not too" or "not at all" confident that Congress can police itself on matters of ethics.

The Senate bill would:

o Require greater disclosure of last-minute legislative provisions known as "earmarks," which set aside taxpayer money for lawmakers' pet projects. The practice has grown during the past decade and has come under new scrutiny because of abuses.

Former representative Randy "Duke" Cunningham, R-Calif., pleaded guilty to bribery in November after setting aside money for two defense contractors that had given him a Rolls-Royce, expensive anti-ques and cash worth at least $2.4 million. Former lobbyist Abramoff, who is awaiting sentencing on corruption charges, has referred to the congressional committees that handle earmarks as "the favor factory."

o Ban gifts from lobbyists to lawmakers and their aides.

o Require advance approval from the ethics committee for any fact-finding trips paid for by private sources. To get approval, the source that is financing the trip would have to certify that none of the money came from lobbyists, but that differs little from current rules. The bill doesn't speak to a more common practice, in which corporations and trade groups sponsor plant tours and conferences at luxury resorts with industry officials. During these trips, lawmakers are exposed to their lobbying pitches.

o Require disclosure of congressional trips aboard corporate or other private planes, including the dates, destination, and purpose, along with the names of others on board. But it leaves in place the process by which lawmakers pay far less than the market value of the travel. Their campaigns or political parties are required to pay the equivalent of first-class airfare, rather than the more expensive charter rate.

o Require lobbyists to file quarterly disclosure reports, rather than the semiannual ones they file now, and include details on their campaign contributions and fundraising activities. They also would have to report trips they provided for government officials and contributions to charities linked to lawmakers.

o Mandate that lobbying coalitions disclose their members, and that paid efforts to stimulate so-called "grass-roots" lobbying - drumming up support or opposition for an issue from the public or opinion leaders outside Washington - be disclosed. All of this would be posted on the Internet.

It was unclear when the bill might win final Senate approval. Trouble also looms for the legislation in the House, where the Republican majority is split on the issue, and GOP leaders have yet to unveil a proposal.

Reps. Christopher Shays, R-Conn., and Marty Meehan, D-Mass., said they would press for inclusion of an independent Office of Public Integrity to enforce whatever new lobbying restrictions eventually emerge. Doing so "would help take politics out of a stalled ethics process," Shays said.