|
May 18, 2007 -- Legal Center Weekly Report: May 18, 2007
On May 17, 2007 the House Judiciary Committee passed new ethics legislation, but missing were key reforms. Policy Director Meredith McGehee stated , "While it was disappointing that the revolving door provisions increasing the 'cooling off' period for Members of Congress and senior staff from one to two years were stripped from this bill, it was hardly surprising."
"Over the last several weeks, a growing number of Members from both parties had become increasingly vocal behind closed doors in their opposition to this provision, which is included in the Senate-passed bill," she continued.
McGehee expressed hope that a separate measure passed by the Committee to require lobbyists to disclose their bundled campaign contributions would be included in the final bill.
"The lobby disclosure reform measure must still go through House floor consideration and a conference with the Senate so it is premature at this moment to make a final judgment on the product," said McGehee. "A key test for the Democratic leadership will be whether they can garner the votes to incorporate strong bundling disclosure provisions in the bill passed by the House."
The full House should be ready to act on lobby disclosure reform legislation before the Memorial Day recess.
Reform groups and the Committee for Economic Development sent a letter this week to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), expressing support for the establishment of a nonpartisan and professional Office of Public Integrity (OPI) and outlining elements that the groups believe are absolutely essential for an effective and publicly credible OPI. A special task force named by the speaker is currently looking into a variety of ethics enforcement mechanisms.
The reform groups signing the letter include the Campaign Legal Center, Common Cause, Democracy 21, the League of Women Voters, Public Citizen and U.S. PIRG. The Committee for Economic Development, which also signed the letter, is a national organization of business leaders and educators.
Meredith McGehee , Legal Center Policy Director, Appears on C-SPAN
On May 18, 2007, in the wake of the Judiciary Committee markup of the lobbying reform legislation, Meredith McGehee, Campaign Legal Center Policy Director, was asked to make an hour long appearance on C-SPAN's "Washington Journal." McGehee spoke with host Brian Lamb and numerous callers on urgent need for the new Democratic Congress to live up to campaign promises to end the "culture of corruption" in Washington.
To read a variety of this week's editorials and articles on a variety of Campaign Legal Center issues, please click here. |
