Washington, D.C. -  During the first series of votes taken by the new Congress, House Democrats passed significant reforms to prevent unethical behavior, which had seriously tainted the previous Congress. Congressman David Price (NC-04) enthusiastically supported the package of reforms, many of which he had originally proposed in a bill he unveiled in December 2005 (See release).

“The American people made their voice heard in the November elections, and their message was clear: we must change the ‘business as usual’ atmosphere in Washington that has led to the unethical conduct we witnessed in recent years,” Price said. “Democrats have been pushing for these reforms for over a year, and with the change of leadership in Congress, ethics reform is finally seeing the light of day.”

The first round of ethics reforms were passed yesterday, severing the cozy relationship between Members of Congress and lobbyists. Today the House enacted additional measures to further curtail abuses of House procedures, reform the practice of earmarking, and commit the Congress to fiscal responsibility.

“Bad process begets bad legislation, something we witnessed on many occasions during the poor performance of the last Congress,” Price said. “Abuses of the legislative process too often benefited special interests over the concerns of American families. We are now committed to a more open and democratic House of Representatives, one that is responsive to the will of the people, as our Founding Fathers intended.”

A summary of the House Ethics Bill (H.Res.6) follows.

INTEGRITY – The House overwhelmingly approved the following measures yesterday:

Bans Gifts from Lobbyists: Bans gifts, including meals and tickets, from lobbyists and any organizations that employ them.

Bans Lobbyist Travel: Bans lobbyists and their clients from financing travel for Members or staff. Requires the House Ethics Committee to develop guidelines for appropriate privately-funded travel by Members.

Requires Certification and Pre-Approval for Travel Paid for By Outside Groups: Requires Members and staff to obtain pre-approval from the ethics committee for travel to ensure that travel is directly relevant to official duties.

Prohibits use of Company Planes: Prohibits Members from using non-commercial corporate jets.

Ends the K Street Project: Prohibits Members from taking official action or attempting to influence the employment decisions of any private entity on the basis of partisan affiliation.

Mandates Ethics Training: Require mandatory ethics training annually for all House employees.

CIVILITY AND FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY – The House overwhelmingly approved the following measures today:

Curbs Abuses of Voting Time: Prohibits holding votes open for the sole purpose of arm-twisting and affecting the outcome.

Reforms House-Senate Conference Committees: Requires adequate notice of meetings to ensure bipartisan Member attendance; ensures information is available to all conferees; and ensures legislation cannot be changed after the signatures of conferees.

Restores Pay-As-You-Go Budgeting: Restores the pay-as-you-go rules that balanced the budget in the 1990s, requiring that both new spending and tax cuts be paid for.

Earmark Reform: Require committees to disclose the sponsors of any earmarks included in appropriations, authorizing, tax or trade legislation. These new rules would also prohibit trading earmarks for votes and require Members to disclose their earmark requests and certify that they (and their spouses) have no personal financial interest in the request.