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 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 readingCreation of Enforcement Mechanisms Key to Democrats Reform Plans:
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 readingNew Majority Leader Opposes Travel Ban, Reform:
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 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 readingBoehner Calls GOP Reforms ‘Childish’:
Rep. John Boehner (R-OH), running for the GOP Majority Leader post, called a GOP backed proposal to ban members from taking lobbyist-paid travel ‘childish’. Boehner also stated, “A ban on travel … I just don’t agree with it. We shouldn’t treat members [of Congress] like children.” Boehner later apologized for his remarks, but did not cease to disagree on certain aspects of reform proposals. The Los Angeles Times article also notes that Rep. James Sensenbrenner (R-WI), a supporter of Rep. John Shadegg (R-AZ), stated his belief that Roy Blunt (R-MO) won the votes of Texas Republicans for his Majority Leader bid with a promise to give jurisdiction of a telecommunications to bill to Joe Barton’s (R-TX) House Energy and Commerce Committee.
Continue readingBoehner Has Most Ex-Staffers on K Street; Contest Could Boil Down to Reform:
In the race to replace Tom DeLay as House Majority Leader John Boehner is the man with the most former staffers relocated to K Street, according to The Hill newspaper. Boehner has at least 24 former staffers working as registered lobbyists compared to 11 for Roy Blunt and 7 for John Shadegg. In another era these business and lobbyist connection would be a plus for Boehner, but post-Abramoff the climate has shifted. Political scientist Russ Baker says, “If [lobbying] reform is at the head of the agenda, the connections with K Street would seem to be something of a disadvantage.” The Christian Science Monitor reports that the race may boil down to the strength of support for reform in the GOP caucus. Boehner, despite his K Street ties, and Shadegg are seen as the reform candidates, while Roy Blunt symbolizes the status quo. Blunt may be at advantage because he has spread the money from his political action committee further then either opposing candidate, contributing more than $400,000 to other party members’ campaign coffers.
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