[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 61 (Wednesday, May 11, 2005)]
[House]
[Pages H3166-H3167]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    ABUSES OF POWER LOBBYING REFORM

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Pallone) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, absolute power corrupts, and over the last 
decade, the cozy relationships that have been created between House 
Republicans and powerful corporate lobbyists have led to lobbyists 
controlling what happens here on the House floor.
  Earlier this year, the Republican majority rammed through weaker 
ethics rules to protect one of their leaders who has come under 
scrutiny because of his relationship with a lobbyist. Fortunately, the 
American people were not fooled by this stunt. They saw the new rules 
for what they were, nothing more than an attempt to protect a powerful 
Republican leader. Finally, after media and public outcry became too 
much for the Republican majority to endure, Republicans agreed to 
reinstate the old bipartisan ethics rules.
  However, Mr. Speaker, it is important to remember that had the public 
been indifferent and had the Democrats on the Ethics Committee gone 
ahead and allowed the committee to organize under the weakened rules, 
today this House would be structured under ethics rules that would 
allow either side, Democrat or Republican, to shield its Members from 
scrutiny. Mr. Speaker, the Republican ethics reversal was good for this 
institution and good for the American public.
  I wanted to say, though, Mr. Speaker, that lobbyists still have too 
much power within the Republican majority here on Capitol Hill. House 
Republicans turned to lobbyists from the pharmaceutical industry to 
write a prescription drug law that does nothing to help senior citizens 
with the skyrocketing prices of their prescriptions drugs. Republicans 
turned to lobbyists from the oil and gas industry to write an energy 
bill that does nothing to address the rising costs Americans pay at the 
pump. With each of these bills rewarding lobbyists with billions of 
dollars in tax breaks and government handouts, Republicans did 
absolutely nothing to help out middle-class Americans who continue to 
struggle to make ends meet.
  I think it is time Congress rein in the power of Washington 
lobbyists. Last week the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Meehan) and 
the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Emanuel) introduced legislation that 
would dramatically reform the way lobbyists do business in this town. 
The reform legislation would force lobbyists to publicly disclose who 
they meet, whether it is a Member of Congress or an administration 
official, and what issue they are lobbying about. If the news reports 
of the last 4 months have shown anything, it is that lobbyists work 
below the radar screen here in Washington, and it is time for that to 
change and this reform legislation to get a good start.
  The gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Meehan) and the gentleman from 
Illinois (Mr. Emanuel) want to bring a Republican on board to make 
their reform legislation bipartisan, but so far

[[Page H3167]]

they have no takers. In fact, when the gentleman from Texas (Mr. 
DeLay), the majority leader, was asked about the reform legislation 
last week, his first response was to simply laugh. And then the 
gentleman from Texas (Mr. DeLay) responded, and I am quoting, ``I am 
not interested in the water that they are carrying for some of these 
leftist groups.''
  Now, I would maintain that lobbying reform should not be a partisan 
issue. The majority leader should not stand in the way of any 
Republican who decides to sign on to the Meehan-Emanuel bill.
  And could it be that the Republican leadership has become so cozy 
with Washington lobbyists that they do not want to see any lobbyist 
reform?
  Mr. Speaker, 10 years ago the gentleman from Texas (Mr. DeLay) said 
right here on the House floor, and I am quoting, ``The time has come 
that the American people know exactly what their representatives are 
doing here in Washington . . . are they feeding at the public trough, 
taking lobbyist paid vacations, getting wined and dined by special 
interests? Or are they working hard to represent their constituents? 
The people, the American people have a right to know.''
  Now, that is what the gentleman from Texas (Mr. DeLay) said, as I 
said, 10 years ago. But, Mr. Speaker, what has happened to the majority 
leader over the last 10 years that makes him sing a different tune 
today?
  I think it is time this House support real lobbying reform, and it is 
time House Republicans seriously look at the ideas that the gentleman 
from Massachusetts (Mr. Meehan) and the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. 
Emanuel) have put forward in their legislation.

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