Dems Take A Strong Stance on Lobbying

Democrats Unveil Their Own Plan for Rules on Lobbying
By Carl Hulse
The New York Times

Wednesday 18 January 2006

Washington - With a stinging attack on Republican ethics, Congressional Democrats today proposed a lobbying overhaul they said far exceeds new Republican proposals in limiting the influence of monied special interests on Capitol Hill.

"Today we as Democrats are declaring our commitment to change - change to a government as good and as honest as the people that we people that we serve," said Senator Harry Reid of the Nevada, the Democratic leader, who compared Republicans to organized crime figures he battled as a state gaming official.

"We took them on; we ran them out of the state," he said in an elaborate event staged by House and Senate Democrats at the Library of Congress. "Well, here they have infiltrated government."

The high profile Democrats gave to unveiling their ethics plan made clear that the party intends to make its portrayal of Republican corruption a central theme in the coming mid-term elections and showed that Democrats do not intend to easily strike a deal with anxious Republicans on an ethics overhaul.

Republicans mounted a fierce counteroffensive, highlighting the ties Democrats have to lobbyists, pointing out past resistance to ethics changes, circulating Library of Congress regulations that say the facility should not to be used for political events and accusing Mr. Reid of using his Senate office to prepare political documents.

"Does Mr. Reid think that using an official government office for political purposes is ethical?" asked Brian Nick, a spokesman for the National Republican Senatorial Committee.

Representative Nancy Pelosi of California, the House Democratic leader, said her party's plan is superior to the "vague and insufficient set of so-called reforms" proposed so far by Republicans. "What is important about their list is not what it does do, but what it doesn't," she said.

She and other Democrats said that in contrast to the Republican approach, their proposal would end a Republican practice of demanding that law firms and advocacy groups hire on the basis of party affiliation. It would also require lawmakers and senior officials to disclose when they were negotiating for jobs when they are preparing to leave Congress. Senate Republicans are preparing an overhaul plan as well in a game of one-upsmanship touched off by guilty pleas to corruption charges by the high-powered lobbyist Jack Abramoff and an associate and a House Republican's admission to taking bribes.

Mr. Reid referred to Mr. Abramoff in his opening remarks announcing the plan.

"This is a culture of corruption," he said.

Mr. Reid said on Tuesday that having Republicans rewrite House rules governing lobbying was "like asking John Gotti to do what he can to clean up organized crime."

The House and Senate are responsible for setting the rules that apply to each chamber, but in the past have enacted these types of reforms through a combination of rules changes and legislation to give them the force of law.

Past furors like the House Post Office scandal and sensational revelations about lobbyist paid travel, suspect book deals and speaking fees have sparked previous rounds of reform. But they are often undone by lack of staff members to police them and have been riddled with loopholes that allow lawmakers and lobbyists alike to find ways around them. Some fear that could be the case this time if Congress is not vigilant.

Though the plans differ, all take aim at the opportunities available to lobbyists to provide lawmakers with benefits like luxury travel, expensive meals, scarce tickets to entertainment events, fund-raising help, contributions to pet causes and other little-scrutinized forms of financial and political support.