Republican Ethics Reform: Loophole will still allow all the gifts!!

[LynneSin]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/01/17/AR2006011701311.html

Lawmakers are about to bombard the American public with proposals that would crack down on lobbyists. Several prominent plans, including one outlined yesterday by House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.), would specifically ban meals and privately paid travel for lawmakers.

Or would they?

According to lobbyists and ethics experts, even if Hastert's proposal is enacted, members of Congress and their staffs could still travel the world on an interest group's expense and eat steak on a lobbyist's account at the priciest restaurants in Washington.

The only requirement would be that whenever a lobbyist pays the bill, he or she must also hand the lawmaker a campaign contribution. Then the transaction would be perfectly okay.

<<<<<snip>>>>>>

Yesterday, Hastert and high-ranking Senate Republicans, led by Rick Santorum (Pa.) and John McCain (Ariz.), said they would eliminate these privately funded fact-finding trips as part of a comprehensive ethics package that they hoped would begin moving through Congress early next month. The senators also said they would restrict gifts to lawmakers but apparently would not go as far as to ban meals, as Hastert said he intended to propose.

None of the lawmakers, however, said they would end travel and meals supplied by lobbyists as part of fundraising events, which, at least for now, would leave the loophole open. Rep. David Dreier (R-Calif.), who is Hastert's emissary on the lobbying issue, said he was tasked to deal with lobbying laws, not campaign-finance laws, which he declared a separate issue.

This is the law that Rick Santorum is trying to push instead of the Democratic law which would ban everything and no loopholes. What a fricking joke!!!

[bliss_eternal]

1. Something tells me

that if WE had control of Congress and it was DEMS that were caught wiretapping, that law would be VERY different.

[ananda]

2. just like McCain's torture compromise..

.. where Bush really doesn't have to stop torturing.

Reeptiles just love loopholes and pork.

Sue

[zbdent]

3. Free cruise, as long as lobbyist gives Repuke a check

for one cent . . .

[LynneSin]

4. Yep, that's what we call DOUBLE DIPPING

:grr: