House Dems set today to pass lobby reform now stripped of disclosure of bundled contributions

[flpoljunkie]

Evidently those interested in more transparent government failed, as I heard Rep. Castor say that this disclosure of bundled contributions from lobbyists will not actually be part of the bill which will be sent to the Senate. Members of Congress do not want to disclose who is bundling these contributions for their campaigns--never mind the astounding fact that it is legal for lobbyists to serve as fundraisers for members of Congress! They won't even abide disclosure of these bundled contributions. I would add that Senator Barack Obama supports not only disclosure of bundled contributions by lobbyists but by everyone who bundles campaign contributions. He reports the latter contributions, and does not accept contributions from federal lobbyists, bundled or otherwise.

Democratic Leaders Find House Ethics Bill a Tough Sell
By Elizabeth Williamson

Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, May 23, 2007; A06

After scrapping most key elements of an ethics package meant to deliver on Democratic promises to bring unprecedented accountability to Congress, party leaders were still working into the night yesterday to sell their stripped-down bill to the rank and file.

With a vote on the bill slated for tomorrow, leading Democrats were fighting yesterday to keep its meatiest remaining piece, a provision unmasking the lobbyists behind bundles of contributions delivered to lawmakers.

But even that faced significant opposition from conservative "Blue Dog" Democrats and members of the Congressional Black Caucus.

"It's not a done deal," Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), the sponsor of the bundling bill, said last night. "We're continuing to work with our members to make it clear that this is an important part of the lobbying reform agenda."
lawmakers for three decades. Measures to achieve that have come close to passage but, in the end, hit the buzz saw of member self-interest.

<>Yesterday, House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer (Md.) called the bundling provision "difficult to get to."

Emanuel said last night that he remained confident that tomorrow's vote would usher in meaningful new ethics laws. The main bill would significantly tighten reporting requirements for lobbyist campaign contributions, event sponsorship and other activities; require searchable, online public access to the reports; and impose harsh penalties on rule-breakers. The proposal, similar to one passed by the Senate in January, would supplement stricter House rules on gifts and travel from lobbyists adopted earlier this year.

[flpoljunkie]

1. NYT weighed in yesterday on lobby reform and bundling disclosure...

For all the promises, the bundling disclosure mandate is in deep trouble as opposition mounts from Blue Dog, Hispanic and black caucus Democrats intent on protecting their re-election campaigns. The pity is that the proposal they are fighting doesn’t even stop this ethically indefensible practice — it merely puts the details on the record.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi knows failure to approve bundling disclosure will reduce the Democrats’ vaunted vows to political farce and shorten their chances of retaining the majority. Republicans are chortling, but the smarter moderates in their ranks better keep their eyes on the people’s agenda, not the lobbyists’ A.T.M.’s. A crucial vote over the lobby bill’s debating rule is about to determine whether reform dies at the hands of greedy incumbents. They might remember that next year’s voters will check for enactment of last year’s promises.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/23/opinion/23wed2.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

[iconoclastic cat]

3. Goddamn fools. We, they, all of us. Fools. nt

[LiberalFighter]

5. If they want citizens to respect Congress they need to be honest and open

[aquart]

2. Why bother?

[iconoclastic cat]

4. You may want to change your sig line. nt

[LiberalFighter]

6. called the bundling provision "difficult to get to."

Yesterday, House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer (Md.) called the bundling provision "difficult to get to."

Mr Hoyer... work harder on the bundling provision!!

[OregonBlue]

7. Between this, the secret trade deal and the iraq funding, it really is time to throw all the bums

out!!!

[flpoljunkie]

8. More on this "lobby reform" from USA Today

Lobbying bill up for vote — and scrutiny
By Ken Dilanian, USA TODAY

As House Speaker Nancy Pelosi sees it, the lobbying bill that may come up for a vote in the House today would "end the tight-knit relationship between lobbyists and lawmakers."

Critics, though, point out that the measure would do little to change how well-funded special interests seek to influence Congress.

<>That won't change under the House bill. Nor would the bill prohibit lobbyists from raising money for lawmakers, becoming treasurers of their campaigns, or acting as campaign consultants — all common practice.

<>While Pelosi personally has expressed support for public financing, she and her fellow Democratic leaders have not sought to change the campaign-finance system, even as they have promised to "drain the swamp" of Washington corruption.

A look at the lobbying bill's journey to the House floor may explain why: Far less ambitious changes have met with resistance.

As it moved through the Judiciary Committee, the lobbying bill was stripped of several provisions designed to shed light on the influence of lobbyists. While Democratic leaders and incoming freshmen supported the original bill, it ran into opposition from veteran lawmakers, Public Citizen's MacCleery said.

"It's like they're in a bubble; they are not getting it," said Mary Boyle, a spokeswoman for Common Cause, another non-partisan watchdog group. "They are so tone deaf to what the public expects and demands."

The most far-reaching measure under consideration today calls for disclosure — not prohibition — of the practice of "bundling," when lobbyists gather up checks from donors and deliver them to lawmakers.

Bundling has long been a fact of life in Washington, but Americans have no way of knowing which lobbyists are raising large sums for their representatives. In a document that surfaced last year in a Federal Election Commission enforcement action against mortgage giant Freddie Mac, the organization's lobbyist boasted that he "held over 75 events for members of House Financial Services Committee" that he said raised nearly $3 million from 2000 to 2003.

The bundling-disclosure element was so controversial that it was made a separate bill, and its chances of passage are uncertain.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2007-05-23-lobbying-bill_N.htm?csp=34

[flpoljunkie]

9. House passes HR2317 disclosure of lobbyists bundled contributions 224-197. No R's voted aye.

Yet, if this amendment remains separate from the main lobbying reform bill--it will be more difficult to pass this reform in conference with the Senate who has already passed a bill on lobbying reform.

http://clerk.house.gov/cgi-bin/vote.asp?year=2007&rollnumber=416

Evidently the bill will be combined. Found this article from The Hill:

But Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said she will put the legislation on the floor today. Good for Nancy Pelosi!

One member of the Democratic leadership said it would send lobbying reform and bundling disclosure rules to the floor as separate pieces of legislation. If the House approved both pieces of legislation they would be combined during conference negotiations with the Senate.

Various Democrats in leadership said support for the bundling rules is growing and predicted they would pass. The House Judiciary Committee passed stand-alone bundling rules by voice vote last week.

http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/dems-panel-chiefs-cash-in-on-bundling-2007-05-24.html