Lobbyist attends private GOP meeting( hours before a vote)

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Republicans may change the rules allowing former senators to attend weekly GOP luncheon meetings after retired Sen. Lauch Faircloth attended a session while lobbying a bill pending on the floor. Faircloth, R-N.C., is a registered lobbyist for companies such as Honeywell and the Dow Chemical Co., which are advocating passage of a bill to limit the liability of companies facing asbestos-related claims. He attended Tuesday's luncheon, just hours before a crucial vote on the bill, which would end decades of lawsuits against manufacturers and their insurers, potentially saving them great sums of money.

"It's business as usual in Washington," said Roberta Baskin, executive director of the Center for Public Integrity. "The feeding frenzy for reform right now is mostly a war of words." The episode came as lawmakers on both sides of Capitol Hill - the House and Senate - are examining ways to reform lobbying rules in the wake of the Jack Abramoff scandal. Just two weeks ago, the House voted to take away access to the floor and the House gym from former members who are now registered lobbyists. The Tuesday meeting hosted by the Republican Policy Committee is a weekly lunch where Republicans "gather and discuss issues before the Senate, review the anticipated agenda, and discuss policy options," according to the RPC's web site.

"The Republican Policy Committee chairmen have a long-standing tradition of welcoming former senators to the weekly policy lunch. These former senators do not lobby their former colleagues," said RPC Chairman Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., who added, "There may be a revision of the current policy of permitting former senators to attend the lunch in
the future." Faircloth, who lost a 1998 re-election bid to John Edwards, did not lobby his former colleagues at the meeting, several senators said. But he did listen in as the asbestos bill was discussed. Sen. Larry Craig, R-Idaho, said Faircloth did not gain any special insight during the luncheon. "Did he gain anything more than outside people? Probably not," Craig said. "He was not lobbying during that lunch. I happened to sit right beside him." Faircloth, a senior adviser at Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, a Washington law and lobbying firm, did not immediately return a telephone call seeking comment.

Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., declined to attack Republicans for letting Faircloth attend Tuesday's event. But he said Democrats do not permit former senators to attend their weekly luncheon. Democratic Whip Dick Durbin of Illinois, however, was critical. "His timing is suspect, to be there just as the big bill came to the floor," Durbin said. "It raises questions as to whether the Republican leadership should have thought twice."

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/1153AP_Lobbyist_Republicans.html