Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Chris Dodd (D-CT) stated that they will push for the public financing of elections in the wake of congressional bribery and lobbying scandals, according to The Hill newspaper. In the House, David Obey (D-WI) and Barney Frank (D-MA) have introduced a bill to allow for the public financing of elections by creating a national campaign fund, funded voluntarily by taxpayers and a tax of one-tenth of one percent of all corporate profits over $10 million. Durbin and Dodd have not suggested what their proposal would look like but have expressed concern that lobbying reform proposals will not fix the source of the corruption, which is the need to fundraise due to the high cost of running elections.
Continue readingReform Takes Different Forms in Panel Hearings:
Senators clashed over some reform proposals at yesterday’s Senate ethics reform hearings, according to the New York Times. The most contentious issue was a proposal by Sen. Barak Obama (D-IL) to create an independent office to investigate ethics violations and criminal corruption in Congress. Obama acknowledged that it would be a difficult to create such an office as he ran up against criticism from Republican Senators, including Sen. Norm Coleman (R-MN). Sen. Russ Feingold’s attack on privately-funded travel caused reactions as Senator Coleman defended the practice and Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) wrestled with the issue. Sen. Feingold also stated that, “we are hearing the sound of furious backpedaling in the corridors of power.” The issue of earmark reform, talked about at length by Sen. McCain, will certainly go forward as it saw bipartisan support. Earmark reform may face a greater test in the House where Rep. Don Young, notorious for his earmarked “Bridge to Nowhere,” offered to let lawmakers who support earmark reform to pull out their earmarks from last year’s appropriations bills. Only one lawmaker, Charlie Bass (R-NH), took him up on the offer.
Continue readingKerry to Introduce “Duke Cunningham Act”:
Sen. John Kerry plans to introduce a bill that will strip convicted lawmakers of their pensions. The Boston Globe reports that the bill, dubbed the “Duke Cunningham Act” after the California congressman who pleaded guilty to bribery charges, would strip the $40,000 a year pension from lawmakers found guilty of bribery, perjury, or conspiracy to defraud the government. The current law only strips the pension from lawmakers found guilty of treason and espionage.
Continue readingMontana Lawmakers Cut Lobbyist Ties:
Montana politicians Rep. Denny Rehberg (R) and Sen. Max Baucus (D) replaced lobbyists working as treasurers on their political action committees in the wake of the lobbying scandal in Washington, according to the Billings Gazette. Sen. Conrad Burns (R), the other Montana lawmaker, has no plans to remove the lobbyist who works as his campaign chairman.
Shareholders Push Companies for Political Contribution Disclosure:
Shareholder activists are expected plan to force resolutions on some New England companies to disclose all information related to campaign contributions, according to the Boston Globe. The resolutions will target CVS Corp., Staples Inc., and Marsh & McLennan Cos. to publicly disclose their political contributions. A similar campaign run last year by shareholders caused the New Jersey based Shering-Plough Corp. to disclose all political contributions on their website.
Continue readingEditorial: How to Reform Lobbying?:
The Washington Post editorial page lists reforms that they believe would effectively reform lobbying. On gifts and meals the Post “can’t get too worked up about a lobbyist picking up lunch tabs, as long as that is disclosed. But there's no excuse for taking freebies such as sports tickets.” They also label resistance to a ban on corporate travel “outrageous.” Disclosure and tightened restrictions on privately funded travel would be preferred over an outright ban, the Post argued, and disclosure is the key. “They should be required to detail, at least quarterly, information on meals or other gifts; political contributions; fundraisers hosted; contributions to charities controlled or financed by members, or that they solicit; and previous government employment. More important, lobbyists should report what congressional or executive branch offices they contacted, and with whom they spoke.”
Continue readingMajority Leader Rents Apartment From Lobbyist:
New House Majority Leader John Boehner (R-OH) rents a Capitol Hill basement apartment from a lobbyist whose clients lobby on issues that came before Boehner when he chaired the Education and Workforce Committee. According to the Washington Post, John Milne, the owner of the rented property, was hired by Fortis Health Plans to lobby on the Economic Security and Worker Assistance Act, which was co-authored by Boehner. Milne has also been hired to lobby on minimum wage increases and tax credits for tips, both issues overseen by the Education and Workforce Committee. Milne denies ever lobbying Boehner directly.
Continue readingLobbyist Ties to Pombo, Mining Industry Probed:
The Los Angeles Times reports that former House Resources Committee legal aide and current mining industry lobbyist Duane Gibson held a $1,000 a head fundraiser for House Resources Chairman Richard Pombo (R-CA) that included many mining industry officials three months before Pombo presented legislation that would open up public lands to mining. Gibson, who has been named in subpoenas in the federal probe of Jack Abramoff, also worked as lead investigator at the Resources Committee on behalf of businessman Charles Hurwitz, under investigation by federal banking regulators. Charges against Hurwitz were later dropped after Pombo and John Doolittle (R-CA) – both recipients of campaign contributions from Hurwitz – undermined the federal case against him.
Continue readingEx-Aide to Majority Leader Had Contacts with Abramoff:
The former chief of staff to John Boehner, Barry Jackson, accepted an invitation to travel to Saipan in the Marianas Islands to visit with clients of Jack Abramoff, but decided not to go. According to the Associated Press, Jackson, now chief deputy to White House aide Karl Rove, was contacted by Abramoff associate David Safavian – who is now indicted for his role in the Abramoff affair – on visiting Saipan to look at the working conditions at garment factories on the Islands. Jackson cannot remember why he did not go to the Islands. On Sunday’s Meet the Press Boehner said that Abramoff may have been in contact with “low-level employees” in his office.
Continue readingWhite House Cannot Shake Abramoff:
Despite attempts to distance itself from the Abramoff scandal the White House cannot shake its connections to the corrupt lobbyist. The Wall Street Journal reports that there are three officials who seem to be directly tied to Abramoff and unraveling scandal. Former GSA and OMB official David Safavian formerly worked as a lobbyist with Abramoff and is currently indicted for lying to the GSA, the FBI, and the Indian Affairs Committee and for obstruction of justice. Former deputy Interior Secretary Stephen Griles is under investigation for his role - as Abramoff’s “man” inside Interior – in aiding Abramoff’s tribal clients. White House aide Karl Rove is also tied to the disgraced lobbyist. Abramoff bragged to his client Tyco that he could contact Karl Rove on their behalf. Rove, when he came to the White House, took Abramoff’s top assistant Susan Ralston to be his executive assistant.
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