Yesterday afternoon
after fighting among themselves for the whole day, the Republicans in the House of Representatives passed a rule for a
sham Lobby Reform bill which many had already
dismissed as a complete joke:
The nation should not be fooled. The proposal is a cadaverous pretense that Congress has learned the corrupting lessons of Jack Abramoff, the disgraced superlobbyist; Representative Tom DeLay, the fallen majority leader; and Duke Cunningham, the imprisoned former congressman. It makes a laughingstock of the pious promises of last January to ban privately financed junketeering by lawmakers. Instead, these adventures in quid pro quo lawmaking would be suspended only temporarily, safe to blossom again after the next election.
Here is a copy of a detailed report we submitted in the Rules Committee that fully explains the Democratic view on this ruse reform bill.
We are going to come back next week and vote on this sham reform bill (so the fight is not over yet). But it is important we all know how the Republicans pretty much throttled and struck down every single Democratic proposal which would have given any teeth to this joke of a lobby reform bill.
Late Thursday night after the TV cameras and the reporters had gone home to sleep, the Republicans in the Rules Committee struck down a proposal I offered that would have served as a substitute to this sham bill consisting of the text of Nancy Pelosi's "Honest Leadership and Open Government Act" (H 4682). They struck down my amendment that would have, among other things (details below)
*Made Members pay FULL COST for their rides on Corporate Jets;
*Banned gift and travel from lobbyists (there would have been no more golf trips to St. Andrews, Scotland)
*Shut down Grover Norquist's K Street Project;
*Ended sneaky special interest legislation in the dead of night.
Republicans would have none of it. They choked away an opportunity for real change making a complete mockery of the concept of lobbying reform. Actually, the Republicans in the Rules Committee avoided the mention of Abramoff's name during the entire Rules Committee proceedings. Listening to them, one would actually come away with the impression that there was no Jack Abramoff and the House Ethics Committee is working fine.
The Republican leadership wouldn't even allow us to debate and vote on these reforms on the floor, let alone embrace them.
I have fought for reform the last two years. Republicans promised change. They failed to deliver (again). And what is worse - they failed to be honest about it.
On behalf of the American public, Democrats have been fighting for real reform. But what the Republicans offered us yesterday was the very opposite of reform. It was instead a steadfast and cynical defense of an indefensible status-quo.
As I mentioned up top, the fight is not over. We are going to come back and vote on this bill next week. And Democrats are going to fight tooth and nail to insert provisions that will turn this sham bill into real reform legislation. So if you can, watch CSPAN next Wednesday when we will take the floor again to fight the Republican culture of corruption. Meanwhile, here is a summary of my amendments the Republicans struck down in the House Rules Committee.
Summary of Slaughter amendment in the nature of a substitute
(text of H.R. 4682)
The Honest Leadership and Open Government Act of 2006
FORCE MEMBERS TO PAY FULL COST FOR THEIR RIDES ON CORPORATE JETS: Requires Members to pay full charter costs when using corporate jets for official travel and to disclose relevant information in the Congressional Record, including the owner or lessee of the aircraft and the other passengers on the flight.
BANS GIFTS AND TRAVEL FROM LOBBYISTS: Bans gifts, including meals, tickets, entertainment and travel, from lobbyists and non-governmental organizations that retain or employ lobbyists; prohibits lobbyists from funding, arranging, planning, or participating in congressional travel.
SHUTS DOWN THE K STREET PROJECT: Makes it a criminal offense and a violation of the House Rules for Members to take or withhold official action, or threaten to do so, with the intent to influence private employment decisions.
CLAMS DOWN THE REVOLVING DOOR TO K STREET: Prohibits former Members, executive branch officials and senior staff from lobbying their former colleagues for 2 years; and requires Members and senior staff to disclose outside job negotiations.
ESTABLISHES A NEW OFFICE OF PUBLIC INTEGRITY UNDER THE INSPECTOR GENERAL OF THE HOUSE: Charges the office with auditing and investigating compliance with lobbying disclosure rules and, if necessary, referring matters to the United States Attorney.
THE HAMMER RULE: Stops the practice of keeping votes open to twist arms and lobby Members on the floor of the House (the tactics Tom DeLay and his cronies used to pass the Medicare bill); ends 2 day work weeks; ends practice of House leadership rewriting measures reported from Committees without allowing the House to vote on the committee-reported version.
ENDS SNEAKY SPECIAL INTEREST LEGISLATING IN THE DEAD OF NIGHT: Prohibits consideration of conference reports and other legislation not available in printed form and on the Internet for at least 24 hours; requires full and open debate in conference and a vote by the conferees on the final version of the legislation; prohibits consideration of a conference report that contains matters different from what the conferees approved.
ENFORCES PUBLIC DISCLOSURE OF LOBBYING ACTIVITIES: Requires lobbyists to file quarterly reports with more information, including campaign contributions, fundraisers and other events that honor Members, and the name of each Member contacted. Reports must be in electronic format, searchable on the Internet; increases civil and criminal penalties for lobbyists who violate the rules.
PROMOTES OPEN GOVERNMENT: Mandates public disclosure of which Members sponsor earmarks and disclosure of whether Members have a financial interest in the earmark including special tax breaks; prohibits any Member from offering or withholding an earmark to influence how another Member votes.
PREVENTS CRONYISM AND CORRUPT CONTRACTING: Requires government public safety officials to possess proven credentials and experience; restores accountability and openness in federal contracting; imposes stiff criminal and civil penalties on contractors who cheat taxpayers or engage in wartime profiteering; prohibits contractor conflicts of interest; closes the revolving door between government and contractors; and requires full disclosure of contract overcharges.
I am going to run around this morning in between media interviews and meetings. But I will try to pop in here every now and then and do my best to respond to some questions. Thanks again for making me feel so welcome to your community. - LMS