Thomas Veil
Nov 10, 2006, 04:49 PM
For all those who have said that we liberals and Democrats never criticize our own side....
WASHINGTON -- On Day 1 of the next session of Congress, newly empowered Democrats are promising restrictive rules to "break the link between lobbyists and legislation." The city's veteran lobbyists know what to expect on Day 2: requests for political donations from the Capitol's new stewards.
Ethics watchdog groups are hopeful as incoming House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., readies the Democrats' "Honest Leadership and Open Government" initiative for opening day in January. The plan includes a list of changes designed to clean up what the party calls "a culture of corruption" in Washington....
Fred Wertheimer, president of the ethics watchdog group Democracy 21, acknowledged there's no magic cure, but added: "There's a difference between doing nothing and doing something. We've got a real shot here of doing something important."
Pelosi says Democrats will end the culture that allowed one-time super lobbyist Jack Abramoff to hand out perks in return for lawmaker favors for his clients, and that led to the jailing of former Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham, R-Calif., for accepting $2.4 million in bribes.
The Democratic agenda would ban gifts and travel paid for by lobbyists; double, to two years, the time in which lawmakers and senior officials are barred from lobbying their former offices; force lobbyists to disclose more of their activities; and shut down efforts like the Republican "K Street Project" _ a forced alliance with lobbying firms, named for the Washington street that is home to many lobbying offices....
The Democratic program includes more than curbs on lobbyists. It would require lawmakers to disclose when they are negotiating for private-sector jobs, require House-Senate conferences to be open to the public and subject government contracts to public disclosure and aggressive competition....Washington Post (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/11/10/AR2006111000960.html)
Okay, it's a start. :rolleyes: But it still seems lightweight.
Want to cut the ties to lobbyists? Institute full federal campaign financing. Forget this crap about taking lobbyist money from anybody. And make it ten years before any congressman can leave office and take a job with a company which benefited from his legislation.
WASHINGTON -- On Day 1 of the next session of Congress, newly empowered Democrats are promising restrictive rules to "break the link between lobbyists and legislation." The city's veteran lobbyists know what to expect on Day 2: requests for political donations from the Capitol's new stewards.
Ethics watchdog groups are hopeful as incoming House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., readies the Democrats' "Honest Leadership and Open Government" initiative for opening day in January. The plan includes a list of changes designed to clean up what the party calls "a culture of corruption" in Washington....
Fred Wertheimer, president of the ethics watchdog group Democracy 21, acknowledged there's no magic cure, but added: "There's a difference between doing nothing and doing something. We've got a real shot here of doing something important."
Pelosi says Democrats will end the culture that allowed one-time super lobbyist Jack Abramoff to hand out perks in return for lawmaker favors for his clients, and that led to the jailing of former Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham, R-Calif., for accepting $2.4 million in bribes.
The Democratic agenda would ban gifts and travel paid for by lobbyists; double, to two years, the time in which lawmakers and senior officials are barred from lobbying their former offices; force lobbyists to disclose more of their activities; and shut down efforts like the Republican "K Street Project" _ a forced alliance with lobbying firms, named for the Washington street that is home to many lobbying offices....
The Democratic program includes more than curbs on lobbyists. It would require lawmakers to disclose when they are negotiating for private-sector jobs, require House-Senate conferences to be open to the public and subject government contracts to public disclosure and aggressive competition....Washington Post (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/11/10/AR2006111000960.html)
Okay, it's a start. :rolleyes: But it still seems lightweight.
Want to cut the ties to lobbyists? Institute full federal campaign financing. Forget this crap about taking lobbyist money from anybody. And make it ten years before any congressman can leave office and take a job with a company which benefited from his legislation.
