Unable to agree on major lobbying and ethics legislation, Senate and House leaders have made plans to adopt vastly scaled-back versions of the measures as part of their rules so that lawmakers can claim that they responded to recent congressional scandals.
Congress promised fast action on lobbying reforms in January, but the two chambers cannot agree over a number of provisions, including one in the House bill that would rein in independent organizations that have spent millions of dollars, mostly on behalf of Democrats, to sway federal elections. House Republicans are insisting that the groups, nicknamed 527s, be curtailed, but Democratic senators and a handful of Senate Republicans have vowed to oppose the change as part of the lobbying bill.
As a result, Congress may adjourn this year without agreeing on legislation to tighten restrictions on lobbyists' dealings with lawmakers. The House has not yet named negotiators to work with the Senate to devise a compromise package, even though its bill passed May 3. "It's on life support," Jan W. Baran, a leading Republican ethics lawyer, said of the final bill.
The legislation's potential demise is surprising, given the urgency that lawmakers of both parties placed on its passage seven months ago. Soon after disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff pleaded guilty to conspiring to corrupt public officials, the bipartisan congressional leadership promised quick action on measures including a ban on privately funded travel by lawmakers and steep restrictions on lobbyist-paid meals -- recommendations that were offered by House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.).
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/27/AR2006072701473.html
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