Apr 26, 2006 -- Legal Center Sends Letter to House on Shays-Meehan Amendment Package

Dear Representative:

The Campaign Legal Center strongly urges you to oppose H.R. 4975, the Lobbying Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006, in its current form. We also urge you to oppose any rule which does not allow for floor votes on a series of core strengthening amendments, including the amendments proposed to the House Rules Committee by Representatives Christopher Shays (R-CT) and Marty Meehan (D-MA). Without substantial strengthening, the House will be voting on a sham lobbying reform bill.

The scandals surrounding lobbyist Jack Abramoff brought to light the gaps in current lobbying laws and ethics rules and raise serious questions about the integrity of the legislative process. Current laws allow significant attempts to influence the outcome of the legislative process to go undisclosed. Significant reforms to federal lobbying laws and congressional ethics rules are necessary to address the issues highlighted by the Abramoff scandals. As H.R. 4975 currently stands, it is not a serious effort to address many of the problems that made the Abramoff scandal possible. Thus, even if H.R. 4975 were enacted into law, the lobbying and ethics process would still be subject to gross manipulation by hundreds of lobbyists and others seeking to influence public policy in Washington.

The Shays-Meehan amendments would:

• Require disclosure of grassroots lobbying activities. Abramoff recommended the services of his business partner Michael Scanlon to conduct grassroots lobbying and letter writing campaigns. Because Scanlon's activities were considered grassroots lobbying, expenditures in the millions went undisclosed to the American people. Such a disclosure provision is in the Senate-passed version of the lobby reform bill and is needed in any House measure.
• Require disclosure of lobbyists' contributions to candidates. Abramoff also made substantial campaign contributions to Members, both directly and through clients. To be credible, any new lobbying laws must require disclosure of how lobbyists financially assist Members of Congress and their staffs. The American people have a right to know this information. Again, such a provision is in the Senate-passed version and must be included in the House bill.
• Ban on gifts from lobbyists to Members. Abramoff notoriously made gifts of meals and tickets to sporting events to Members and staff. Along with gifts from lobbyists, payments to finance parties to "honor" or recognize Members at national conventions - a major loophole in the current law - should also be prohibited.
• Require Members to reimburse for the use of private jets at charter rates. Corporations and private interests providing the use of privately owned planes to Members raise serious ethical questions. Lobbyists and private interests are able to gain access through these favors and invaluable face time with Members on privately chartered flights. Current rules subsidize this practice by permitting Members to reimburse for the use of charter planes at first class, not charter, rates. That subsidy should be ended and Members should be required to pay charter rates for charter flights.
• Create an Office of Public Integrity. In the aftermath of these scandals, the House needs to create a safeguard to help prevent this type of corruption from occurring in the future. The House Ethics Committee has been unable to function throughout the 109^th Congress, and its paralysis demonstrates that the status quo is at best dysfunctional. Establishing an Office of Public Integrity would introduce an independent voice into the ethics process and keep partisanship out of the system. The integrity of the House as an institution of government depends on the creation of such an Office.

Other strengthening amendments, which deal with the current revolving door statute and bundling by lobbyists, have also been proposed to the Rules Committee. These amendments warrant an up or down vote as well.

It is critical at this time for the House to pass meaningful lobbying reform: H.R. 4975 is not meaningful reform. The Campaign Legal Center urges you to oppose this bill in its current form and to support the Shays-Meehan strengthening amendments, which offer meaningful and effective lobbying reform. The American people deserve no less.

Sincerely,

Meredith McGehee
Policy Director

J. Gerald Hebert
Executive Director