Today the
Honest Leadership and Open Government Act of 2007 will become law. The
Act represents far reaching changes to the lobbying and ethics rules that
govern the interactions between lobbyists and legislators.
“With all
the wining and dining paid for by lobbyists, it’s been far too easy for
officials to lose sight of who they work for,” said U.S. PIRG Democracy
Advocate Gary Kalman. “This
legislation challenges the culture in Washington
and makes it more likely that the concerns of voters will be heard.”
The Act
contains some of the most significant changes to the lobbying and ethics rules
since the Watergate era. Among the many provisions in are:
- * bans on gifts and travel paid
for by lobbyists and a ban on trips in which lobbyists are present;
- * first time disclosure of the
fundraising that lobbyists do on behalf of candidates and increased
disclosure of lobbyists’ contributions and activities;
- * increases to the “cooling off
period” from one year to two between when a Senator or senior staff leaves
public service and returns to use their influence as a lobbyist;
- * first time mandatory conflict
of interest rules and disclosure of when members are negotiating with
future private employers;
- * elimination of discounted rides
for members of Congress on corporate jets;
- * first time disclosure of
sponsors of earmarks – pet projects that legislators insert into spending
bills -- and a prohibition on earmarks that financially benefit members
themselves or their family;
- * elimination of the “secret
hold,” a practice in which one Senator can stop a bill from proceeding to
a vote without any accountability;
Despite
internal opposition from colleagues, Congressional leadership fought to ensure
that the bill carried meaningful reforms throughout the process. Speaker Pelosi
and Majority Leader Reid, Senators Obama, Feingold, and Feinstein and
Representatives Van Hollen and Emanuel deserve enormous credit for the pushing
these strong reforms.
“We applaud
the new rules and recognize they are only as effective as the ability to
enforce them,” noted Kalman. “We look forward to working with Congress on
proposals for strengthening enforcement.”
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U.S. PIRG is the federation of state
Public Interest Research Groups. State PIRGs are non-profit, non-partisan
public interest advocacy organizations.
