Four House Committees approved a lobbying and ethics reform bill today, according to the Associated Press.
The House bill would require lobbyists to make more frequent and detailed disclosures of their contacts with lawmakers; impose a moratorium, until the end of this year, on all privately funded travel; and require more information on the pet projects, or earmarks, that make their way into spending bills.
The Judiciary Committee, which approved its section of the bill on a 18-16 vote, approved criminal penalties that could lead, with multiple violations, to up to five years in prison for lawmakers and lobbyists who intentionally fail to report receiving or giving meals and other gifts.
The Government Reform and House Administration committees approved provisions that would deny pension benefits to members of Congress, staff or political appointees in the executive branch convicted of crimes related to public corruption.
The Rules Committee also accepted an amendment that would withhold pay from House employees who do not complete a mandatory ethics training program.
Democrats were unhappy with the bill claiming that it did not go far enough in cracking down on the lobbying culture. The bill does not ban gifts or meals from lobbyists as the Senate version does and it does not create an independent ethics oversight office. Democrats also felt that the process was not handled in a bipartisan manner as they were shut out of meetings and not allowed to participate. House Government Reform Committee Ranking Member Henry Waxman (D-CA) stated, "Its objective is to give the semblance of reform without actually doing anything. That's Congress at its worst." Bob Ney, in a possible self-referential statement in support of the bill, said, "Nobody is above the law."
Continue readingA Closer Look at Ney’s Decision:
Chris Cillizza of The Fix follows up on yesterday's announcement by Rep. Bob Ney (R-OH), otherwise known as "Respresentative #1" in three separate plea deals, that he will not resign as "Representative #2" Tom DeLay (R-TX) has chosen to do. Cillizza takes a close look at the differences between the two troubled congressmen and their divergent decisions:
Legally, DeLay faced more imminent problems than Ney.
DeLay is currently under indictment in Texas for his role in an alleged money laundering scheme run through his Texans for a Republican Majority political action committee. In the federal investigation into the ever-broadening pay to play scandal surrounding former lobbyist Jack Abramoff, DeLay has watched as several of his key aides (including his former press secretary and deputy chief of staff) have plead guilty to various crimes. But DeLay has never been directly implicated, and he has said publicly that investigators have told him he is not a focus of the Abramoff probe.
Ney, on the other hand, has been repeatedly referenced by both Abramoff and Tony Rudy in their plea agreements with prosecutors -- although never by name. Known as "Representative #1" in the Abramoff plea document, Ney is alleged to have accepted a variety of trips and gifts from Abramoff and his associates in exchange for official actions.
Ney has denied any wrongdoing, although he has acknowledged his legal peril by declaring that he will run for reelection even if he is indicted. The chairman of the Ohio Republican Party has said Ney should resign if indicted.
There may be a political decision going on with Ney, as there was with DeLay's decision to raise money through his campaign committee to then be converted to his legal defense fund:
Ney will face voters in his 18th District for the first time on May 2. In that primary race, Ney is matched against financial analyst James Brodbelt Harris, a youthful, first-time candidate given no chance of ousting Ney.
Even Ney's biggest critics within his party want him to stay on the ballot through May 2 -- if he dropped from the race before that time, Harris would need just a single vote to win the nomination. National Republicans would prefer the opportunity to influence the selection process of a replacement nominee, which is only possible if Ney steps down after becoming the party's official nominee.
In talking to Republicans familiar with internal polling in the DeLay and Ney races, the Ohio Congressman is currently in worse shape.
The Ney drop out watch begins on May 3rd. Continue reading
Internal Restrictions, Scandal Atmosphere Lead to Fewer Earmarks:
According to Roll Call, a combination of internal restrictions on the number of earmarks requested and the current atmosphere around Congress in the wake of the dual Abramoff and Cunningham scandals has led to a reduction in the number of earmarks members are seeking. The key to driving down earmarks has been an internal rule implemented by House Appropriations Chairman Jerry Lewis (R-CA):
Appropriations Chairman Jerry Lewis (R-Calif.) directed each of the cardinals [a term for appropriations subcommittee chairmen – PB] to set limits for their specific subcommittees, with the bulk of the panels setting that ceiling at five requests per lawmaker.
Among those panels allowing more was the Labor, Health and Human Services and Education subcommittee, which restricted members to 10 requests.
Despite the reductions hard-line conservatives, such as Rep. Jeff Flake (R-AZ), are still unhappy with the process: “Nobody’s happier to see fewer earmark requests this year than me but, with zero accountability, the earmarking process is still ripe for abuse and waste. Rank-and-file Members need the ability to attempt to strike out earmarks that are wasteful or suspicious. Anything short of that is not real reform.”
Continue readingSee the terrifying monster that is lobbying reform!:
A great cartoon on the "beast" that is lobbying reform.
Continue readingHouse GOP Passes 527 Campaign Finance Reform:
The House narrowly passed campaign finance restrictions on 527 non-profit groups, which can currently accept unlimited donations from individuals, according to the Washington Post. 527 groups became a powerful force on the Democratic side in the 2004 election in the wake of the McCain-Feingold campaign finance reform's restrictions on giving to campaigns committees and political action committees. Billionaire donor George Soros donated $27 million to Democratic 527 groups during the 2004 election cycle setting an all-time record for individual giving. Republicans also benefited from Robert Perry, a Texas homebuilder, pumping $4.5 million into the group Swift Boat Veterans for Truth. Republicans turned Soros into a bogeyman and have aimed to curb Democratic spending by limiting contributions to these 527 groups since the election. Seven Democrats sided with the Republicans while 18 Republicans, mostly from the conservative Republican Study Group, sided with the Democrats. The Post notes the contradictory behavior by both sides in the debate,
Republicans, who had adamantly opposed the McCain-Feingold campaign finance law, called for expansion of the measure's ban on soft money to cover the 527 committees. The House bill would limit to $5,000 a year the amount an individual could give to a 527 committee active in federal elections and $25,000 to a committee engaging in partisan voter registration. It would prohibit all corporate and union contributions.
Organizations such as Common Cause, Democracy 21 and Public Citizen, past legislative adversaries of the GOP, were allied with Republicans in yesterday's floor fight. Democrats had the backing of a long list of conservative leaders opposed to regulation, including Grover Norquist of Americans for Tax Reform and Paul M. Weyrich of the Free Congress Foundation.
Bloomberg notes that the bill stands a test in the Senate as Democrats may filibuster. The legislation would also allow “political parties to spend unlimited amounts in coordinated efforts to support their candidates for federal offices. Republican Party committees had $76 million in the bank as of Feb. 28, and Democratic committees had $53 million.”
Continue readingCAGW Pig Book Released:
Citizen's Against Government Waste unveiled its 2006 "Pig Book" of earmarked projects. The highlight is probably the $13.5 million earmarked for the International Fund for Ireland which includes a World Toilet Summit.
Go to their website to check it out.
Continue readingTheater of the Absurd:
Only in a world of contradictions would Tom DeLay, the man who has been holding a stick in the spokes of the House Ethics Committee wheels to keep it from investigating his manifold misdeeds, file the complaint that could break the ethics truce in the House. According to Human Events:
Continue readingSoon-to-retire Rep. Tom DeLay (R.-Tex.) said today he would file an ethics complaint against Rep. Cynthia McKinney (D.-Ga.) for striking a Capitol Police officer should no other House member do so first.
Planning to Stay, Ney states, “I am not Tom DeLay”:
Rep. Bob Ney (R-OH) vowed that he would let the voters of his Ohio district decide whether he should remain in Congress as opposed to bowing out early as Tom DeLay has in the face of mounting legal worries, according to The Hill. Ney has been implicated in three separate plea deals and he and his ex-chief of staff Neil Volz are both under investigation by the Justice Department for accepting bribes in exchange for favorable congressional action in the Jack Abramoff scandal. Ney is known as “Representative #1” in the plea deals of Jack Abramoff, Michael Scanlon, and Tony Rudy.
Continue readingTom Feeney Sells Access for an Entire Season:
Ever wanted to buy a season ticket pass to a sitting congressman. According to Roll Call, Rep. Tom Feeney is offering all-access for only five grand:
Last week, the campaign of Rep. Tom Feeney (R-Fla.) invited lobbyists to a Spring Break Bash at the American Legion Hall on Capitol Hill. The price of admission: $49 a person or $500 per political action committee. But for those wishing to dispense with all that messy check-writing for the entire year, how about buying a “season ticket pass” for a cool $5,000?
The invite says: “Get a Season Ticket Pass: $5,000 per calendar year gives you complimentary invitations to all Feeney for Congress events in that year.”
…
About that $5,000 for a “calendar year,” though, keep in mind that individual contributors can give candidates only $2,100 per election for each two-year election cycle (that is, a total of $4,200 for the primary and general election). PACs are permitted to give a total of $10,000 per election cycle.
Individuals can give $5,000 a year to leadership PACs. Feeney has one called Federalist PAC, but the invitation specifically asks donors to write checks to “Feeney for Congress.”
But Roe said the $5,000 refers to PACs. He added that the April 6 Spring Break Bash — which will feature music from the band Blame It On Jane, whose lead singer is pharmaceutical lobbyist Jane Adams — is a “laid-back” event the campaign does every year to highlight “the fact that Feeney has one of the nation’s premiere spring break destinations in his district, Daytona Beach.”
The article leaves it a bit unclear as to whether Feeney is violating campaign laws by instructing season ticket holders to make out $5,000 checks to his campaign committee rather than his PAC. One thing that is clear: I would be happy to die never having heard a band fronted by a pharmaceutical industry lobbyist.
Continue readingNo more DeLay: More on the Resignation
The New York Times reports that Tom DeLay (R-TX) had become dispirited by the ethics scandals surrounding him, particularly following the guilty plea filed by his ex-aide Tony Rudy that implicated Ed Buckham, one of DeLay’s closest aides and friends. An associate of DeLay told the Times, “Tony Rudy and especially Ed Buckham were more than just former colleagues — they are Tom DeLay's friends.” Rep. Ray LaHood (R-TX) also stated about Rudy and Buckham, “Every story that is written will include DeLay's name, that's for sure.” Knight Ridder reports that DeLay’s decision is clearly related to the Rudy plea deal and the prosecution surrounding him. Kendall Coffey, a former federal prosecutor, tells KR, “Any rational person in his (DeLay's) position would be very concerned. Whether it’s working up the ladder at Enron or a drug organization, it’s classic strategy to work up by getting plea agreements and cooperation at each level.” The Washington Post interviewed a former aide to both DeLay and Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-IL) who stated that DeLay’s reason for putting of his resignation announcement until after the primary election was to convert campaign contributions into money for his legal defense fund. “He needed to raise money for the defense fund. That was the bottom line. He wanted to make sure he could take care of himself in the court of law.” The National Journal provides a timeline of DeLay’s troubles from 1997 to his announced resignation.
Continue reading
59063
