Dems To Ban All Unofficial Bribes?
By Justin Gardner | Related entries in General Politics, MoneyThat’s the news. In fact, all these “gifts” from lobbyists, including trips, tickets to games and even food will be gone.
House Democratic leaders said they’ll act quickly to ban gifts and meals from lobbyists, prohibit lawmakers from flying on corporate jets and prevent them from taking overnight trips arranged by lobbyists.Votes on the rules will be the first order of business tomorrow for the House in Washington, which will be under Democratic control for the first time in 12 years.
The proposed rules were released today after the House ethics committee said Representative Tom Feeney, a Republican from Florida, will pay the $5,643 cost of a 2003 trip to Scotland arranged by Republican lobbyist Jack Abramoff. The panel also said outgoing Representative Curt Weldon, who lost his re- election campaign in November, agreed to repay more than $23,000 for a January 2003 trip funded by private interests.
And even though some trips will be okayed, there will be transparency…
Though lobbyist-funded overnight trips would be banned, nonprofit foundations affiliated with lobbying groups would be allowed to pay for trips approved in advance by the House ethics committee. The rules would require public disclosure of all trips within 15 days after the excursion. The travel provisions would take effect March 1.
I guess we’ll see if this makes a dent, but something tells me that the Dems are taking advantage of a situation where they can score political points and make it much harder for politicians to get into the pocket of certain interests.
But will the Dems practice what they preach?
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January 6th, 2007 at 10:46 pm
Unfortunately where there is a will there is a way, members of congress want money, lobbyists have it and want to give it away. This does not mean that this legislation is not a good idea, it does close a loophole, but human nature being what it is this won’t be the last word on the subject.
January 9th, 2007 at 10:43 am
What’s amusing about these rules is how transparent they are. While they won’t allow a lobbyists to buy lunch for an LC making $28,000 a year, that same lobbyist is specifically allowed to pay hundreds of dollars to sit down to breakfast, lunch or dinner with a Member of Congress and his senior staff as long as the money goes to his campaign fund. Given how campaign funds can be spent on nearly anything, I fail to see the point to the Dems campaign to end junior staffers social interaction with representatives of business and non-profits in their districts.
(3) The restrictions in subparagraph (1) do not apply to the following:
….
(B) A contribution, as defined in section 301(8) of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 431) that is lawfully made under that Act, a lawful contribution for election to a State or local government office, or attendance at a fundraising event sponsored by a political organization described in section 527(e) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.
January 9th, 2007 at 4:21 pm
C’mon people. Get your heads out of your arses. Ethics reform is for all lobby groups except those which put Israeli [and other foreign] interests before ours.
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http://www.rawstory.com/news/2007/Major_loophole_in_Democrats_ethics_bill_0109.html
Though tasked with authoring the legislation, Rules Committee Chair Louise Slaughter (D-NY) said she disagreed with the exemption in an exclusive interview.
“I would’ve done it straight out,” Slaughter said, noting that the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) and the Aspen Institute are exempt from many of its harshest restrictions.
Slaughter didn’t say who, if anyone, had pushed for the exemption. As chair, the New York Democrat was responsible for pulling together the ethics reform package, which was hammered out between members of the Democratic caucus.
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) declined to comment.
Washington ethics watchdog Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington – a nonprofit that has loudly decried Republican ethics scandals and enforcement – also declined to comment.
The Aspen Institute, which does not technically employ lobbyists, describes itself as an organization that runs “seminars, policy programs, conferences and leadership development initiatives” intended “to promote nonpartisan inquiry and an appreciation for timeless values.” The group concentrates on a wide range of public policies, but its foreign policy and weapons control arm â€â€? known as the “Aspen Strategy Group” â€â€? have included high-profile and arguably partisan fellows including Vice President Dick Cheney, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, former Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz, former Vice President Al Gore Clinton Secretary of State Madeline Albright, and former New York Times reporter Judith Miller.
However, the group does pay for members to attend what spokesman Jim Spiegelman described as, “intensive, multi-day informational discussions on mostly foreign policy issues, wherein the institute takes “members of congress together on a trip and focuses on a given subject whether it’s the international environment, or non-proliferation or another [foreign policy] topic.�
AIPAC, on the other hand, is widely believed to be the most powerful lobbying organization in Washington, and it has used its might, some say, to help end the political careers of several members of congress who had been critical of Israel including Cynthia McKinney (D-GA) and Earl Hilliard (D-AL). It was recently implicated in an espionage scandal involving Pentagon analyst Larry Franklin who was suspected of passing sensitive legislation to Israel through contacts in AIPAC. It has also mobilized millions of dollars to fund non-violent defense technologies and has attempted to disrupt activities of militant groups like Hezbollah and Hamas.
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Oh, but it’s anti-Semitic to express the desire to put U.S. interests above Israel’s. Dumbass Dumbocrats and Repugniks.