Newly elected House Majority Leader John Boehner stated on Sunday television shows that Congress may be overreacting to the current lobbying scandal and voiced his opposition to a proposed congressional travel ban and a ban of earmark projects. The Washington Post writes that Boehner’s ascension to the Majority Leader post “make[s] it less likely that the more far-reaching proposals to restructure lobbying will become law.” According to the Associated Press Rep. Zach Wamp (R-TN) justified his opposition to a ban on congressional travel with the rationale that, “We are now in a long-term war against terrorism.” Sen. Barak Obama, leading the Democratic reform effort in the Senate, stated, “It shows that some in Congress simply aren't serious about reducing the influence of lobbyists and ending the culture of corruption that has plagued Washington.”
Continue readingReform Hinges on Abramoff, K Street Already Roiled:
In light of opposition to some reforms by the newly elected Majority Leader and some in the Republican conference the reform effort will hinge on the speed of Abramoff’s finger pointing. According to the Washington Post’s K Street Confidential, if Abramoff quickly fingers lawmakers and indictments are filed then the reform effort will turn into a “bidding war” for the most stringent restrictions. The reform effort could stall and wind up being “slow-walked” through the committee process if Abramoff “dawdles” and takes his time in providing information to prosecutors. But despite the ambiguity of the future of reform in the Congress lobbyists are already feeling the burn of the current climate in Washington. Washington restaurants and the Washington Nationals baseball team are suffering as lobbyists no longer take lawmakers out for meals and are giving up their tickets to baseball games. Many on Capitol Hill fear an exodus of congressional staffers to K Street before Congress extends to two years the revolving door lobbying ban.
Continue readingRalph Reed Introduced Enron to Abramoff:
In e-mails examined by the Atlanta Journal Constitution former Enron lobbyist and current Republican candidate for Lt. Governor of Georgia Ralph Reed is revealed to have suggested that Enron hire Jack Abramoff to help their lobbying efforts in the House of Representatives. Reed, an ally of Abramoff who was paid $4 million from Indian gaming interests for his efforts in opposing a construction of a casino by a rival tribe of one of Abramoff’s clients, told Enron officials that they should hire Abramoff because of his close relationship with then-Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-TX). Reed calls Abramoff, “arguably the most influential and effective GOP lobbyist in congress … he also is very close to [then-House majority leader Tom] Delay and could help enormously.” There is no record of Enron ever hiring Abramoff – the energy giant filed for bankruptcy 12 months after Reed introduced officials to Abramoff.
Continue readingAbramoff’s Excesses Came Early:
The same activity that has led Jack Abramoff to become a household name symbolizing congressional corruption once led to his dismissal from the top post of the College Republicans. The Boston Globe profiles Abramoff’s leadership of the RNC funded College Republicans organization in an effort to “remove liberals from power permanently” and build a strong and independently funded organization. Abramoff, spurred by a belief that the press, student associations, and liberal professors were undercover agents of Moscow, furiously campaigned to raise money for the organization despite protests from RNC officials, who he derided as moderates affiliated with George H.W. Bush. He created a separate group, the College Republican National Fund, to raise money and skirt tax laws. Abramoff also lied about his access to power in his direct mail appeals, according to the Globe, foreshadowing his future prevaricating. Abramoff’s oversized personality and actions eventually forced the RNC to push him out of the top spot at the College Republicans.
Continue readingBurns Ad Assails Democrats:
Sen. Conrad Burns (R-MT), under fire from Montana Democrats for taking $155,000 from Jack Abramoff and his clients, released a new television ad attacking Democrats for impugning his character. The ad calls Democratic attacks “the worst kind of politics” and “a bunch of you-know-what”. Burns, speaking in the ad, also states that the Democratic ads are paid for by Jack Abramoff’s tribal clients. The Montana Democratic Party did receive $5,000 from one tribe represented by Jack Abramoff, but only after the Party sent out an appeal to tribes to help fund a get-out-the-vote effort among Indian tribes – something the staunch Republican Abramoff would certainly not direct money towards. The Missoulian notes that Burns’ assertion of the source of money for the Democrats’ attack ads is equally true about this very ad by Burns, considering that he received over 30 times the amount that the Montana Democrats did.
Continue readingMcCain Stops Use of Corporate Jets:
Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) and his staff will no longer use corporate jets to travel, according to Roll Call. McCain, voicing his support for a ban of the practice declared, “If I support such a proposal, I shouldn’t be violating it.” The leader of the Democratic reform effort, Sen. Barak Obama (D-IL), has also ceased using corporate jets and while acknowledging that every lawmaker has relied on this practice, “I am as guilty of this as any number of people,” he explained his reason to cease using the jets by stating, “Look, this is a subsidy, and this is a way of circumventing campaign finance rules.”
Continue readingSan Francisco to Pass Public Financing Law:
The San Francisco Board of Supervisors will take up – and likely pass – a proposal to allow for the public financing of city mayoral contests, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. Leaders of both of the two major San Francisco political parties – the Democrats and the Greens – support the reform measure, although Democratic Mayor Gavin Newson believes that the current campaign for public financing targets him and his campaign which outspent his Green Party opponent, the President of the Board of Supervisors Matt Gonzales, nearly 6-1.
Continue readingBoehner Replaces DeLay; New Direction Desired, Same Direction Expected:
John Boehner (R-OH) was elected to the House Majority Leader post vacated by the scandal-plagued Tom DeLay (R-TX) as Republicans issued a “cry of concern” over “voter unease about corruption and partisan excesses”, according to the New York Times. Despite the victory of Boehner’s campaign of change over the status quo, the Washington Post reports that, “Boehner, who has extensive links to lobbyists, hardly represents a radical break from the past.” Boehner was “an active member of the lobbying-governing culture” in Washington during Republican rule and “is unlikely to take House Republicans in a notably different direction than his predecessors when it comes to the big issues facing Congress this year, like tax cuts, spending restraint and the war in Iraq.” One of Boehner’s strengths was that he appealed to both status quo – assuring GOP members that he would not overreact to the Abramoff scandal – and change, siding with the rock hard conservatives allied with John Shadegg.
Continue readingDrug Companies Reap Benefits of New Medicare Bill:
The new Medicare drug benefit will provide the prescription drug industry with extra profits of up to $2 billion, according to a Knight-Ridder report. The increased profits come from the shift of Medicaid recipients, who receive drugs at the lowest price, to the Medicare drug benefit system that provides a choice of different plans, but at higher prices. Medicare officials state that the Medicare deals are offering bigger discounts than Medicaid did and that through competition the prices will continue to go down. Pharmaceutical economist Stephen Schondelmeyer disagrees, “The argument that more plans will be more competitive doesn't appear to be true. More players doesn’t result in lower prices if they have much smaller volumes and much less leverage.” Democrats claim that the only beneficiaries of the prescription drug bill are Republicans and the prescription drug companies who contribute millions of dollars to their campaigns. Republicans say that the program is flawed and blame a partisan atmosphere in Washington for it not being better.
Continue readingDemocrats Want Abramoff Prosecutor:
Thirty-five Senate Democrats and Independent James Jeffords (I-VT) called on Attorney General Alberto Gonzales to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate the scandal surrounding Jack Abramoff. The New York Times reports that the Senators declared that the appointment of a special prosecutor was necessary because of “Mr. Abramoff's significant ties to Republican leadership in Congress and allegations of improper activity involving administration officials.”
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