House OKs lobbying, ethics bill

Some Republicans thought the bill wasn't strong enough.
WASHINGTON (AP) -- 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 both 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 Ambramoff and the corruption of former Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham, R-Calif., who was convicted and sentenced to more than eight years in prison for taking some $2.4 million in bribes.
It's "such a disappointment," said Rep. Louise M. Slaughter of New York, top Democrat on the Rules Committee. "It does nothing to fix the battered and broken political process of this Congress."
Alternatives offered
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 the 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.
The House bill also requires preapproval for lawmakers making privately funded trips and has new disclosure requirements for earmarks, the special projects that individual lawmakers and their lobbyist allies often quietly insert into legislation.
The White House praised the bill and urged overhaul of the earmark process.
But Democrats and some private groups said the House bill would not ban gifts and meals from lobbyists, require lobbyists to report on fund-raising activities or double to two years the time a retiring lawmaker must wait before taking a job lobbying Congress -- all provisions of the bill the Senate has passed.
They also complained that Republican leaders would not allow a vote on a proposal to create a new independent office to oversee House ethics issues, or to force lawmakers who hitch rides on corporate jets to pay charter flight rates.
Democrats did join Republicans in approving one amendment, offered by Reps. Don Lungren, R-Calif., and George Miller, D-Calif., that permits privately sponsored travel with preapproval by two-thirds of the ethics committee. The measure also requires the committee to come up with recommendations on a permanent travel policy by June 15.
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