Two options emerge in ethics reform packages presented by House and Senate Democrats to enforce lobbying and ethics laws and regulations on lobbyists, according to the Wall Street Journal. One option presented by Sen. Barak Obama (D-IL) would create “a nine-member Congressional Ethics Enforcement Commission, made up of outsiders but appointed by House and Senate leaders.” The Commission would have subpoena power and the authority to investigate but the decision on discipline would remain in the hands of the Ethics Committees. The second option would create an Office of Public Integrity to “audit files,” “assist the ethics committees in enforcing rules,” and “initiate inquiries and serve as a prosecutor in cases brought to the ethics committees, which would be the judges.” Republican leaders John Boehner (R-OH) and David Drier (R-CA) oppose outsiders controlling ethics processes in Congress.
Continue readingBurns Staffer Leaves Amid Abramoff Allegations:
Roll Call reports that Sen. Conrad Burns’ (R-MT) top staffer on the Appropriations subcommittee on the Interior is leaving amid allegations that he aided clients of Jack Abramoff. Ryan Thomas was on the now-infamous plane trip to the Super Bowl in 2001. He was accompanied by staffers to Tom DeLay (R-TX), the chief of staff to Bob Ney (R-OH) Neil Volz, and then-chief of staff to Burns Will Brooke. All staffers have been implicated or are being looked at in connection to the federal bribery scandal involving Abramoff.
Continue readingDemocrats, Republicans Drop Lobbyists from PACs:
Three top Senate Democrats are cutting their ties with William Oldaker, a longtime Appropriations lobbyist who works as treasurer for their political action committees, according to Roll Call. The Democrats, Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV), Byron Dorgan (D-ND), and Ted Kennedy (D-MA), are all aiming to clean up their own houses as they push for broad ethics reforms on Capitol Hill. In the House lawmakers are following suit with Rahm Emanuel (D-IL), Denny Rehberg (R-MT), and Clay Shaw (R-FL) all releasing their PAC treasurers who are also lobbyists. Senators Barak Obama (D-IL) and Joe Lieberman (D-CT) may seek a ban on this practice.
Continue readingLawmakers Seek to Reel in Earmarks:
Earmarks in Appropriations bills have ballooned from 4,000 a decade ago to over 14,000 today. Legislators from both parties are taking aim at these projects and are proposing various degrees of reforms. In a Bloomberg article conservative Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) is “threatening to slow the Senate's business to a crawl by forcing his colleagues to vote on each of the thousands of obscure, sometimes unusual pork-barrel projects.” He asks, “Should we be spending money in ways that are other than in the vital interest of the country?” Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) is joining Coburn in threatening to bring each earmark to a vote. According to the New York Times, Trent Lott (R-MS) and Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) have proposed a reform that “would allow senators to object to any earmarks added in the final stages of negotiations and force sponsors to win at least 60 votes to retain them … [and] require that the final version of legislation be available for at least 24 hours before a floor vote and that the sponsor of each earmark be included along with a justification.”
Continue readingCorporations Pay to Defeat Asbestos Bill:
The Hill newspaper reports that 20 corporations have combined to spend $3 million to defeat the creation of an asbestos trust fund currently being debated in the Senate. The money is to be used for lobbying and advertising in an effort to convince moderate and conservative Democrats and conservative Republicans to vote “No” on the trust fund. The trust fund, opposed by the corporations, would stop asbestos-related litigation by creating a $140 billion trust fund to be paid out to victims of asbestos illnesses. The trust fund is also opposed by trial lawyers and labor unions who are concerned that the fund would stop litigation and would not be able to pay settlements to all victims. Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) attacked the fund as corrupt, stating that corporations would be “jumping for joy” because “[t]hey were able to buy their way into the Senate paying for a bunch of lobbyists.” Sen. Arlen Spector (R-PA), the bills sponsor, responded angrily, “Slander!”
Continue readingMcCain Attacks Obama:
Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) assailed Sen. Barak Obama (D-IL) as insincere, partisan, and a political opportunist in a letter responding to Obama’s decision not to join McCain’s bipartisan commission on reform. According to the Associated Press McCain wrote, “I concluded your professed concern for the institution and the public interest was genuine and admirable. Thank you for disabusing me of such notions.” Obama, in a letter responding to McCain, wrote that he had “no idea what ... prompted” such vicious language. The leader of the Democratic reform effort, Obama, sounded disappointed, but did maintained a collegial tone, “The fact that you have now questioned my sincerity ... is regrettable but does not in any way diminish my deep respect for you nor my willingness to find a bipartisan solution to this problem.”
Continue readingFormer GSA Official Fights Back in Federal Probe:
A former official at the General Services Administration, David Safavian, is going on the offense as he faces five charges of obstructing justice and lying to the FBI, GSA, and the Indian Affairs Committee about his relationship with disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff. Roll Call reports that Safavian lawyers subpoenaed Bryan David Parker, an Indian Affairs Committee investigator, to obtain all documents and notes Parker made during discussions with Safavian. Safavian’s defense team claims that the Indian Affairs Committee had no jurisdiction to investigate the defendant’s dealings with Abramoff or his work at the GSA. The defense also disputes that Abramoff ever lobbied the GSA. Safavian is accused of using his post to help Abramoff purchase the old D.C. Post Office building, owned by the GSA, and for tipping off Abramoff client, Tyco, that the GSA was going to suspend their contracts.
Continue readingPreston Gates, Abramoff Lobbying Firm, Profiled:
The Seattle Times looks at the rocky relationship between Jack Abramoff and his former lobbying firm Preston Gates. Preston Gates, an old Seattle firm, whose best known members were good-government types Jim Ellis and William Gates, Sr., the father of Bill Gates, was predominantly a Democratic lobby shop in the 1980s, but after the 1994 GOP takeover was forced to hire Republicans. The new GOP majority “was brutal” in pressuring Preston Gates to hire Republicans and so they hired Jack Abramoff, who falsely claimed to have connections to Newt Gingrich and Dick Armey. Abramoff helped catapult the Seattle firm into becoming on of the biggest lobby shops in Washington, DC. He pulled in a $3.12 million contract with the Mississippi Choctaws, the most any lobbyist was paid in 1999. But despite his success he was a prima donna who did not want to hear the word “teamwork”, skipped meetings, and demanded he have his own car and driver. The Preston Gates and Abramoff relationship ended much the same way that Abramoff’s relationship with the College Republicans came to an end, with Abramoff’s ego and excesses becoming too much of a burden.
Continue readingTennessee, In Wake of Scandal, Passes Ethics Reforms:
In the wake of a scandal that brought down two Tennessee lawmakers and ensnared two more, the Tennessee Legislature passed ethics reform legislation and sent it to Gov. Phil Bredesen (D) to sign. Bredesen called the reforms, “a big stone in the foundation of restoring the public's confidence,” according to the New York Times. The reforms include the creation of an independent ethics commission, limits to “wining and dining of lawmakers, forbids lobbyists from giving directly to candidates' campaigns, limits cash contributions to $50, and requires more detailed and more frequent financial disclosures from candidates and elected officials.” Some were disappointed that the reforms left out more sweeping measures such as the public financing of elections.
Continue readingIndian Gaming Money Comes Under Scrutiny:
In the post-Abramoff era politicians are taking a second look at Indian sovereignty rules. The Christian Science Monitor explains that two things are under scrutiny: “the 1988 Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA), which is meant to control Indian casinos, and tribes' unique position regarding campaign contributions.” Tribes do not face the same restrictions as corporations or unions and can make unlimited political contributions. In 2004 Indian tribes contributed $8 million to political candidates. Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) and Rep. Mike Rogers (R-MI) are noted as being in favor of oversight and regulation of Indian gaming money. The Indian Affairs Committee will hold a hearing tomorrow on the issue.
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