[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 183 (Friday, November 17, 1995)]
[Senate]
[Pages S17356-S17357]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                         HOUSE GIFT BAN ACTION

 Mr. FEINGOLD. Mr. President, I want to take a few moments to 
comment on what happened last night in the other body with respect to 
the issue of banning gifts to Members of Congress.
  As my colleagues will recall, we had a very spirited and very 
contentious debate on this issue just a few short months ago. We 
started with a proposal from the previous Congress, which would have 
banned gifts and meals from lobbyists and allowed some gifts from non-
lobbyists.
  As a counterproposal, the distinguished Senator from Kentucky [Mr. 
McConnell] offered a set of rules on gifts, that most of us recognized 
as being not much of a reform effort. That proposal, in fact, would 
have allowed a Senator to accept an unlimited number of gifts under 
$100. By my math, if a Senator accepted a $100 gift from a single 
lobbyist every day of the year, that proposal would have allowed a 
Senator to accept $36,500 worth of gifts, at least, from a single 
lobbyist.
  Recognizing how far apart the two sides were, my friend, the 
distinguished Senator from Arizona [Mr. McCain] stepped forward with a 
thoughtful compromise, which essentially applied the executive branch 
gift rules to the U.S. Senate. The Senator from Arizona argued that 
what was good for the Secretary of State was good for a U.S. Senator, 
and of course, he was right.
  After much good-faith negotiating, we ended up with a set of new gift 
rules that passed this body by a vote of 98 to nothing. It was a tough, 
fair and bipartisan compromise. Those new rules, effective this January 
1, will do the following:
  First, Senators will be prohibited from accepting any gift with a 
value of more than $50. Moreover, Senators may not accept from any 
single source--lobbyists or non-lobbyists--more than $100 total in 
gifts under $50. Gifts under $10 will not count towards this $100 
annual cap. We have also banned all travel that is substantially 
recreational in nature, including these so-called charity trips that 
often double as expense-paid vacations for Members and their spouses.
  But the key, Mr. President, to what we did in July, was that for the 
first time there is an aggregate cap on how many gifts Senators can 
accept from a single source. They cannot accept $36,500 in gifts from a 
single lobbyist and they cannot be wined and dined by the same lobbyist 
more than a couple times a year.
  Last night, I am pleased to report, the House of Representatives took 
on the issue of banning gifts, and successfully passed legislation that 
on a strong bipartisan vote that will essentially ban gifts to Members 
of the House.
  Interestingly, the debate in the House was not all that different to 
the debate we had here in the Senate. The House began with the Senate-
passed language--that was the underlying language. But much like what 
happened here in the Senate, there was an effort by the Gentleman from 
Indiana [Mr. Burton] to gut the Senate-passed language and merely 
provide for phantom reform.
  Had the Burton amendment passed, the House would have passed 
something that its supporters would have liked to have called a gift 
ban, but what in reality would have been an enshrinement of the 
outrageous degree of gift giving that takes place in this city.
  Current House rules allow Members to accept up to $250 worth of gifts 
from a single source. However, gifts under $100 do not count against 
that aggregate limit. The Burton amendment 

[[Page S 17357]]
would have continued the current $250 cap, but would have now stated 
that gifts under $50 would not count against the cap.
  So instead of being allowed to accept at least $36,500 worth of gifts 
from a single lobbyist per year, a Member could have accepted at least 
$18,250 worth of gifts from a single lobbyist per year. For the 
proponents of the Burton amendment, that was their idea of reform.
  It would have said to the American people that it is perfectly 
acceptable for Members of the House to accept an unlimited number of 
gifts from lobbyists. Thankfully, Mr. President, the Burton amendment 
met the same fate as the original McConnell proposal. The Burton 
amendment was, in fact, obliterated on the House floor by a vote of 
276-154.
  Republicans and Democrats alike in the House stood up and said that 
they were not going to continue the status quo, they were not going to 
snub their noses at the American people, and they were going to finally 
give the American people the kind of gift reform they have been asking 
for some time now.
  The House, in fact, went on to pass a watertight gift ban, one very 
similar to the rule of the Wisconsin State Legislature which 
essentially prohibits legislators from accepting anything of value. By 
an overwhelming bipartisan vote of 422-6, the House passed a new gift 
rule that is essentially a zero-tolerance rule. It prohibits the 
acceptance of free gifts, meals and recreational trips.
  There is no $10 de minimis. There is no $50 limit on single gifts and 
there is no $100 limit on aggregate gifts. The House, beginning January 
1, will simply prohibit the acceptance of any gifts, other than those 
of little intrinsic value.
  For 20 years, Mr. President, the Wisconsin State Legislature has 
lived under such a zero-tolerance policy and has achieved a national 
reputation for its sense of ethics and integrity government. Since I 
came to the U.S. Senate, my office has lived under these Wisconsin 
rules, and we have essentially created a gift-free zone in our Senate 
office building. It has been our experience that it is not all that 
difficult to say ``no thanks" to the lobbyists.
  Though long overdue, this represents another step on the road to 
meaningful reform of our political process, and I offer my strongest 
praise and commendation for the actions taken by our colleagues in the 
House last night.
  As I have said countless times since I first set foot in Washington 
nearly 3 years ago, it is my preference that the Senate also abide by 
these Wisconsin-style rules. No gifts, no trips, no free meals. Those 
are the rules my office lives by and those are the rules that the 
Wisconsin Legislature has had in place for 20 years.
  If the Senate rules can one day be changed so we are on equal ground 
with the House, I will be the first to stand up and fight for such a 
change. But the Senate rules are tough, they are fair, and they will 
have a profound impact on changing the culture of special interest 
influence that has pervaded this institution for so many years.
  I want to briefly acknowledge some of my colleagues in the other 
body, from both sides of the aisle, who fought the good fight and were 
instrumental in the House's successful effort. I want to thank 
Congressman John Bryant for his longstanding leadership on this issue, 
as well as Representatives Chris Shays and Tom Barrett, who recognized 
how important bipartisan cooperation and compromise is to this process.
  Mr. President, the fight to reform the ways of Washington is far from 
over. The gift ban is just the first skirmish. We will insist on 
passage of lobbying reform legislation. We will insist that the 
Congress take up legislation to shut down the revolving door between 
public service and special access lobbying. And most important, we will 
insist that the Congress take up meaningful and comprehensive campaign 
finance reform.
  Like the gift rules that have now passed both the House and Senate, 
none of these efforts will be successful without bipartisan leadership. 
Reforming this institution, and working to restore the faith and trust 
of the American people should not be a partisan issue. It does not make 
you a good Democrat, or a good Republican--it simply makes you a good 
American.

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