[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 137 (Wednesday, September 6, 1995)]
[House]
[Pages H8545-H8546]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              RESTORING PUBLIC TRUST THROUGH LOBBY REFORM

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Texas [Mr. Bryant] is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. BRYANT of Texas. Mr. Speaker, today the House will be given the 
opportunity to move forward on the most dramatic reform of this 
institution in the way it does business that will be considered this 
year. Unfortunately it has not been allowed to be considered prior to 
now in a serious way, and by that I am talking about an effort to 
reform the rules under which this House operates with regard to 
lobbying and lobbyists. Today on the legislative appropriations bill 
conference report that comes back a motion will be made to not approve; 
that is, to vote against the previous question. We hope that that 
motion to oppose the previous question will be successful; that is, 
that it will be defeated, the previous question will be defeated, and, 
as a result, we will then bring up a rule which will allow 
consideration of a proposal to prohibit the receipt of gifts by Members 
of the House of Representatives from lobbyists and also a provision to 
regulate the way in which lobbyists go about their
 business in this institution.

  About 5 weeks ago the United States Senate took up this matter and 
passed it. It did so with dispatch, and now in the United States Senate 
it is against the law for a Member of the Senate to accept a gift in 
excess of $50 or a gift in excess of $100 from any individual source in 
any one year. It is a proposal that does not go as far as many of us 
hoped, but it goes a long way. It is a dramatic change and takes us in 
the direction of many of the State legislatures who have already 
grappled with this matter and already imposed rigorous requirements on 
their own members, leaving now the House of Representatives of the 
United States as the only remaining bastion of freebies for its Members 
from the lobby.
  My view is that the vast majority, the vast preponderence of the 
Members of this institution, do not accept and are not affected by this 
kind of activity in any respect whatsoever. But it is incumbent upon us 
to instill in the public a strong sense of confidence in this 
institution, and the reports over the last few years have Members 
flying across the country, and taking free golf vacations, free ski 
trips, free junkets of various types from groups that are interested in 
lobbying this House to enact legislation in their favor are disturbing 
to the public, and rightfully so.
  Today, if the previous question on the rule is defeated, we will take 
up the House Concurrent Resolution 99 as an amendment to the 
legislative appropriations bill, which would, as the Senate did, say 
that no Member of the House will be able to accept a gift with a value 
of greater than $50 in terms of meals and entertainment or any type of 
gratuity and no more than $100 annually, $100 annually from any single 
source. Gifts of less than $10 will not count toward that $100 limit, 
but anything over $10 will count toward that.
  The effect of that will be to put an end to the grossest abuse of, in 
my view, the public trust and put an end of the activities which have 
gone on here for 200 years, and gradually, and I think to this date, to 
some extent fatally injured the public's view of this institution. 
There are many exceptions to this. It is written in a way as to be 
reasonable so that Members of Congress can go about the 
representational activities as normal human beings. They will be able, 
of course, to take a meal at a public gathering, to take a meal when 
they are making a speech to a group and so forth, and minor acceptance 
of small things that are really part of a social gathering will not be 
affected in any way whatsoever.
                              {time}  1240

  It will state that these abuses of the public trust, these abuses of 
this institution's prerogatives, have gone on in a much heralded 
fashion, particularly in these new magazine shows on television which 
will no longer be permitted.
  Well, as I said, this is not all that we had sought. You know, this 
House passed legislation much stronger than this in the last Congress, 
twice. First the bill passed, and then the conference report passed. 
Unfortunately, it was filibustered to death in the Senate at the very 
last minute and killed before it could take action.
  Today we are on the verge of making history again, and there really 
can be no objection to what we are trying to do. All we are trying to 
say is the kind of activity that the public disagrees with, and 
rightfully so, is not going to be allowed anymore of this institution.
  Mr. Speaker, in the 1-minute speeches here today we heard a lot of 
talk about what Members found when they went home. I guarantee you the 
one thing that would have been unanimous in every town meeting in the 
country is that Members of the House of Representatives should be 
allowed to take free meals, free tickets, free trips, free vacation, 
and free golf from the very people that are hired to come here and 
influence the outcome of legislation in this place.
  Today we have an opportunity to do the public's will. We have an 
opportunity to vote against the previous question on the rule and the 
conference report on the legislation appropriations bill to allow a 
rule to come up that allows us to take this matter up. It is simple. 
Protestations that we have heard in the past from some leaders in this 
institution that somehow or another we do not have time to deal with 
this matter; to the contrary, we have plenty of time to deal with the 
matter. We do not even need to take a lot of time. Vote no to the 
previous question today. Let this come up. Cast a vote for the American 
people and for the integrity of this institution.

[[Page H 8546]]

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from New York [Mr. Forbes] is recognized for 5 minutes.

  [Mr. FORBES addressed the House. His remarks will appear hereafter in 
the Extensions of Remarks.]


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