Senate Gives Ethics Bill Final Passage

Aug 2 04:24 PM US/Eastern
By CHARLES BABINGTON
Associated Press Writer


WASHINGTON (AP) - The Senate voted Thursday to make lawmakers disclose more about their efforts to fund pet projects and raise money from lobbyists, a move several called the biggest advance in congressional ethics in decades.
Democrats hailed the 83-14 vote as proof they are fulfilling their 2006 campaign promise to crack down on lobbying abuses that have sent some lawmakers and a prominent lobbyist to prison.

But the White House said President Bush had "serious concerns" about the measure and had not decided whether to sign it. The bill contains "toothless provisions" for disclosing "earmarks" slipped into spending bills, said White House spokeswoman Emily Lawrimore.

The bill would require lawmakers seeking targeted spending projects, or earmarks, to publicize their plans in advance. Lawmakers and political committees would have to disclose those lobbyists who raise $15,000 or more for them within a six-month period by "bundling" donations from many people.

The Democratic-crafted bill would bar lawmakers from taking gifts from lobbyists or their clients. Former senators and very high-ranking executive branch officials would have to wait two years before lobbying Congress; ex-House members would have to wait one year.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., called it "the most sweeping reform bill since Watergate."

But several Republicans said it fell short of requiring full disclosure of earmarks, which have soared in number—and controversy—in recent years. Some earmarks fund popular civic projects that boost a lawmaker's re-election prospects. Others help large contractors or other companies that hire lobbyists and donate to campaigns.

The bill "has completely gutted the earmark reform provisions we overwhelmingly passed in January," said Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz. He broke with several former allies on ethics matters, including Sen. Russ Feingold, D-Wis.

"By any measure," Feingold said in the debate, the bill "must be considered landmark legislation."

The 107-page bill would require senators, and candidates for the Senate or White House, to pay full charter rates for trips on noncommercial planes. House members and candidates would be barred from accepting trips on private planes.

Lawrimore called the travel provision unworkable because a first-term president seeking re-election would have to pay extremely high sums to cover the full cost of using Air Force One on political trips. Campaign committees for presidents, who always fly on military craft for security reasons, now pay the government the cost of a first-class ticket when using Air Force One, Lawrimore said.

She said Bush also objected to the two-year "cooling off" period for top executive branch officials seeking to become lobbyists. It is "literally a double standard," she said, because ex-House members would have a one-year wait.

The legislation marks Congress' strongest reaction yet to scandals involving former GOP lobbyist Jack Abramoff and former Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham, R-Calif. Both are now in prison on corruption charges that in some cases involved congressional earmarks.

Under the bill, lawmakers seeking earmarks would have to publicize their plans 48 hours before a Senate vote. They would have to certify they have no direct financial interest in the items.

McCain and others, however, said senators could circumvent the requirements by stating that prompt disclosure was not technically feasible, or by having the majority leader declare a bill earmark- free.

Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said it was ludicrous to suggest someone in his position would "cheat and lie" to hide earmarks.

Reid spokesman Jim Manley expressed incredulity at the White House objections. "What in the world is going on here?" he said, noting the overwhelming Republican majorities for the bill in both chambers of Congress.

Enactment of the bill, he noted, would require Republicans to disclose donations by lobbyists such as Abramoff—who was a major Bush donor—and would prevent the White House "from ferrying candidates around on Air Force One in next year's elections."

All 14 senators who voted against the bill were Republicans.

Among those voting for it was GOP Sen. Ted Stevens, whose Alaska home was searched this week by federal agents probing alleged influence- peddling involving earmarks.

The nonprofit group Public Citizen said the bill amounts to "far- reaching lobbying and ethics reforms."

Fred Wertheimer of Democracy21 called it "a great victory for the American people and a major accomplishment for Congress and its leaders." He said it will give the public "comprehensive information about the multiple ways in which lobbyists provide campaign funds and other financial support" to lawmakers they seek to influence.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., gave the measure a lukewarm endorsement.

"This bill isn't nearly as tough as it would have been on earmarks if Republicans had been involved in writing it," McConnell said. "But weighing the good and the bad, many provisions are stronger than current law."

Earlier versions of the bill would have required lobbyist-bundlers, rather than the recipients, to disclose such contributions. They also had set the reporting threshold at $5,000 over six months, rather than $15,000.








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