Jul 30, 2007 -- Reform Groups Urge House Members to Vote for Lobbying and Ethics Reform Bill

Enclosed for your information is a letter reform groups sent today to House members, strongly urging Representatives to vote for the lobbying and ethics reform legislation when it is considered by the House on the suspension calendar.

The reform groups include the Campaign Legal Center, Common Cause, Democracy 21, the League of Women Voters, Public Citizen and U.S. PIRG.

VOTE FOR THE LOBBYING AND ETHICS REFORM BILL

July 30, 2007

Dear Representative,

Our organizations strongly urge you to vote for the lobbying and ethics reform legislation when it is considered by the House on the suspension calendar.

The organizations include the Campaign Legal Center, Common Cause, Democracy 21, the League of Women Voters, Public Citizen and U.S. PIRG.

The legislation being presented to the House constitutes landmark reform of the nation's lobbying disclosure laws and landmark reform of the Senate ethics rules. It is designed to help address the worst congressional corruption scandals in 30 years that were revealed during the last Congress.

Under the legislation, for the first time citizens will be provided with a wealth of information about the multiple ways in which lobbyists and lobbying organizations provide financial support to assist Members. For the first time, candidate campaign committees, leadership PACs and political party committees will be required to disclose the ''bundled'' contributions raised for them by lobbyists and lobbying organizations.

The legislation also includes fundamental reforms of the Senate ethics rules very similar to the landmark House ethics reforms adopted at the beginning of the year.

The process being used in the House to vote on this legislation is the result of a Republican Senator, Jim DeMint (R-SC), blocking the House and Senate from going to conference on the lobbying and ethics reforms and bringing a conference report to the House and Senate floors for an up-or-down vote. There is absolutely no basis for a House member to vote against this legislation on process or substance grounds.

A vote against this legislation is a vote against landmark lobbying and ethics reforms.

Our organizations strongly urge you to vote for the lobbying and ethics legislation when it comes to the House floor for a vote.

Campaign Legal Center
Common Cause
Democracy 21
League of Women Voters
Public Citizen
U.S. PIRG