[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 93 (Tuesday, July 12, 2005)]
[House]
[Page H5718]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
URGING LOBBYING REFORM
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the
gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Emanuel) is recognized for 5 minutes.
Mr. EMANUEL. Mr. Speaker, today in the Washington Post, we found out
that a key adviser to President Bush on the Intelligence Advisory
Committee has been instrumental in helping China and the Chinese oil
company put together their bid to purchase Unocal.
The other day, the Center For Public Integrity disclosed that big
drug companies spent $800 million in the last 7 years to influence the
Congress, the Senate, and the legislation and the policies we have
here; and then just last year we passed a pharmaceutical prescription
drug bill that ended up producing or will produce $132 billion in
additional profit for the pharmaceutical industry.
The tobacco industry donated over the last few years $40 million to
the Republican Party, and then they get a sweetheart deal by the
Department of Justice for just pennies on the dollar when it came to
settling a lawsuit. They settled for 8 percent of what they had
originally gone in for, $10 million versus $130 million. USA Today
points out that corporate donors have given more than $120 million to
Republicans during the last election, and now they are receiving their
reward. For some businesses, invest a little now and get a larger
return later. That has been the motto.
Just take energy prices. Big oil and big energy companies has been a
major contributor to the majority party, the Republican Party. Oil is
at $60 a barrel, approximately, and yet we talk about giving a $8
billion taxpayer give-away so big oil can do what? Drill for oil. I
thought that was their business plan. So what we are asking the
American taxpayer to do is pay once at the pump and again on April 15.
Why? Because big oil is a more influential player here in Washington.
Special interests have attached themselves to Congress, and this
parasitic relationship is having a corrosive effect on our Nation of
and for the people. When the Speaker's gavel comes down, it is intended
to open the People's House, not the auction house. And lately when we
look at the tobacco industry, the energy industry, the pharmaceutical
industry, those who lobby on behalf of major interests like Chinese oil
companies, we can see something that is happening as it relates to the
People's House.
The relationship between lobbyists and lawmakers has become far too
cozy and close. Professional lobbyists and the lobbyist profession have
become a back office for Congress, serving as travel agents, employment
agencies, and authors of legislation. In fact, in the past 6 years,
lobbying expenditures have more than doubled to $3 billion annually.
Yet while the number of professional lobbyists and their fees have
increased, only one in five lobbyists actually register as required. Of
the 250 top lobbying firms, 210 failed to file one or more of the
necessary documents.
The special interests have benefited from the weak reporting,
nonexistent oversight and toothless penalties while the credibility of
the United States Congress suffers. We have had a debate about campaign
finance reform here in this Congress, a debate that ultimately put some
distance between donors and candidates. Now we need a similar debate as
it relates to lobbyists and Members of Congress.
{time} 1945
We tell, in this institution, corporate America how to clean up their
act. We tell professional sports teams how to clean up their act. Yet
when it comes to our business, how we clean up our house, we are not
very good at that. We think business as usual is just fine.
It is time we updated our laws to reflect the explosive growth and
increasing influence of the professional lobbyist community. It has
been 10 years since we have done anything. The gentleman from
Massachusetts (Mr. Meehan) and I have introduced the Lobbying and
Ethics Reform Act. Our bill creates a code of official conduct for
Congress. In the coming days, we will have a Senate bill, itself,
introduced by a colleague of ours. This code of conduct would close the
revolving door by requiring former Members and staff to wait a minimum
of 2 years after they leave Congress before becoming lobbyists to work
back here influencing legislation and trading on their knowledge. The
bill would end the practice of lobbyists serving as congressional
travel agents by arranging lavish junkets for Members of Congress. We
also require lobbyists to disclose their past connections, previous
Hill employment and financial activities on a public database.
The Meehan-Emanuel bill increases the penalties for failing to comply
with the Lobbying Disclosure Act. It also creates a bipartisan House
task force to recommend ways to reinvigorate ethics oversight and
enforcement. And it would require the Government Accountability Office
to report twice a year on the state of oversight and enforcement.
Mr. Speaker, the gavel should mark the opening of the People's House,
not the auction house, and that is what the American people now see
this Congress doing. Unless we reform the relationship between the
lobbying community and Members of Congress, we cannot restore the
public's faith in the People's House. We are suffering from a
systematic problem requiring an institutional solution. We need more
sunlight, more transparency, better oversight and stiffer penalties.
The Meehan-Emanuel bill provides that transparency. And let me add that
this is not a partisan issue. I hope that Members of both parties will
join us in working together to pass these important reforms.
Mr. Speaker, we have a duty to ensure that the voices of the American
people are not drowned out by the professional lobbyists working the
halls of Congress. Only through lobbying reform can we return the
People's House to the American people.
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