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Jan 20, 2003, 04:39 PM
from http://www.newsmax.com/showinsidecover.shtml?a=2003/1/12/170130
Members of Congress and their staffs with a taste for haut cuisine may now look forward to feasting on such delicacies as lobster, caviar, juicy prime steaks and even less-exotic fare, all provided by lobbyists.
Thanks to changes in House rules, lobbyists and supporters will now be allowed to send the makings of a generous and mouth-watering festive board worth thousands of dollars to House offices, as long as the fare is "perishable food," according to "The Hill's" Web site.
Under a rule change, buried deep in the package of rules prepared by the GOP-controlled House leadership, lobbyists and supporters who are banned from taking members of Congress out for meals costing more than $50 - a mere pittance in Washington's pricier bistros - are now allowed to send expensive catered spreads to Capitol Hill offices no matter how much they cost, The Hill revealed.
As a result of the rule change, a lobbying group such as the National Restaurant Association, for example could feed the staff of the Ways and Means Committee filet mignon dinners every night they worked on a bill in which they have an interest, The Hill reports. After all, sweating over legislation does cause one to work up an appetite.
One House aide told The Hill the change is a "loophole you can drive a truck through."
Another rule change will permit organizations that file under Section 501(c)(3) of the tax code to cough up the cost of lawmakers' travel and lodging expenses in connection with a charitable event, opening the door to allowing lawmakers and their staffs to travel to and stay at charity golf tournaments on the cuff.
"You can imagine a scenario where an association - for whatever the cause may be - holds a charitable golf tournament in Pebble Beach," Matt Keller, a lobbyist at Common Cause, a nonpartisan government watchdog told The Hill, which added that representatives and their staffs could be flown down to a golf tournament, put up in a fancy hotel, and flown back without paying more than a few dollars.
Democrats were unhappy with the changes: "We see some of these changes as allowing members to skirt the intent of the ethics rules in this body, something that only sullies the reputation of an honorable institution," Rep. Martin Frost (Texas), ranking Democrat on the Rules Committee told The Hill.
And Democratic aide charged: "This is charity for Republican members who like to play golf, travel around the country and play on someone else's dime."
But the Hill notes that the door to fancy catered meals swings both ways - past history shows that Democrats will also take full advantage of the new opportunities to chow down at the lobbyists expense.
"Every time a loophole is open, members of Congress will exploit it to its fullest extent," Keller told The Hill. "Once you open a window a little, members of Congress have proven they will do everything they can to jump through it."
I don't get congress. Why are they all so scummy? Maybe because if they had to find a real job they would be ****-out-of-luck.
Members of Congress and their staffs with a taste for haut cuisine may now look forward to feasting on such delicacies as lobster, caviar, juicy prime steaks and even less-exotic fare, all provided by lobbyists.
Thanks to changes in House rules, lobbyists and supporters will now be allowed to send the makings of a generous and mouth-watering festive board worth thousands of dollars to House offices, as long as the fare is "perishable food," according to "The Hill's" Web site.
Under a rule change, buried deep in the package of rules prepared by the GOP-controlled House leadership, lobbyists and supporters who are banned from taking members of Congress out for meals costing more than $50 - a mere pittance in Washington's pricier bistros - are now allowed to send expensive catered spreads to Capitol Hill offices no matter how much they cost, The Hill revealed.
As a result of the rule change, a lobbying group such as the National Restaurant Association, for example could feed the staff of the Ways and Means Committee filet mignon dinners every night they worked on a bill in which they have an interest, The Hill reports. After all, sweating over legislation does cause one to work up an appetite.
One House aide told The Hill the change is a "loophole you can drive a truck through."
Another rule change will permit organizations that file under Section 501(c)(3) of the tax code to cough up the cost of lawmakers' travel and lodging expenses in connection with a charitable event, opening the door to allowing lawmakers and their staffs to travel to and stay at charity golf tournaments on the cuff.
"You can imagine a scenario where an association - for whatever the cause may be - holds a charitable golf tournament in Pebble Beach," Matt Keller, a lobbyist at Common Cause, a nonpartisan government watchdog told The Hill, which added that representatives and their staffs could be flown down to a golf tournament, put up in a fancy hotel, and flown back without paying more than a few dollars.
Democrats were unhappy with the changes: "We see some of these changes as allowing members to skirt the intent of the ethics rules in this body, something that only sullies the reputation of an honorable institution," Rep. Martin Frost (Texas), ranking Democrat on the Rules Committee told The Hill.
And Democratic aide charged: "This is charity for Republican members who like to play golf, travel around the country and play on someone else's dime."
But the Hill notes that the door to fancy catered meals swings both ways - past history shows that Democrats will also take full advantage of the new opportunities to chow down at the lobbyists expense.
"Every time a loophole is open, members of Congress will exploit it to its fullest extent," Keller told The Hill. "Once you open a window a little, members of Congress have proven they will do everything they can to jump through it."
I don't get congress. Why are they all so scummy? Maybe because if they had to find a real job they would be ****-out-of-luck.
