Washington – A divided House passed legislation Wednesday to address the lobbying scandals and ethical missteps that have tarnished the reputation of Congress. Republicans said it would define bright lines of right and wrong while Democrats said it was a feeble attempt at reform that won’t fool voters this fall.
The 217-213 vote, largely along party lines, sends the bill to negotiations with the Senate, which has its own bill that goes further in banning meals and gifts from lobbyists and slowing the movement of former lawmakers to lobbying jobs.
The House bill’s chief sponsor, Rules Committee chairman David Dreier, R- Calif., said the bill “seeks to uphold the highest standards of integrity when it comes to Congress’ interaction with outside groups.”
He pointed out that it would require more frequent reporting by lobbyists on their activities, increase penalties and fines for transgressions and subject congressional staff and members to ethics training. Lawmakers convicted of bribery would also face losing their pensions.
But Democrats, and the good-government groups pushing for stronger legislation, said the House bill would do little to stop acts such as the influence peddling of now-convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff and the corruption of former Rep. Randy “Duke” Cunningham, R-Calif., who was sentenced to more than eight years in prison for taking $2.4 million in bribes.
It’s “such a disappointment,” said Rep. Louise Slaughter of New York, top Democrat on the Rules Committee. “It does nothing to fix the battered and broken political process of this Congress.”
Rep. Joel Hefley, R-Colo., broke with his party on the vote and said the legislation doesn’t go far enough. “Real, meaningful reform in the House must include strengthening the ethics committee and the ethics process,” he said.
Democrats offered an alternative that would have extended the lobbying moratorium for former lawmakers, banned gifts and travel from lobbyists and changed House procedures that Democrats say exclude them from the decision-making process. It lost, 216-213.
Nineteen Republicans voted against the final bill, mostly on grounds that it wasn’t strong enough. There are “things we have to take a step or two further,” House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., said, looking forward to negotiations with the Senate.
