[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 30 (Thursday, March 9, 2006)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1944-S1945]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    LEGISLATIVE TRANSPARENCY AND ACCOUNTABILITY ACT OF 2006--Resumed

  Pending:

       Wyden/Grassley amendment No. 2944, to establish as a 
     standing order of the Senate a requirement that a Senator 
     publicly disclose a notice of intent to object to proceeding 
     to any measure or matter.
       Schumer amendment No. 2959 (to amendment No. 2944), to 
     prohibit any foreign-government-owned or controlled company 
     that recognized the Taliban as the legitimate government of 
     Afghanistan during the Taliban's rule between 1996-2001, may 
     own, lease, operate, or manage real property or facility at a 
     United States port.


                             Cloture Motion

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, the Chair lays 
before the Senate the pending cloture motion, which the clerk will 
state.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

                             Cloture Motion

       We the undersigned Senators, in accordance with the 
     provisions of rule XXII of the Standing Rules of the Senate, 
     do hereby move to bring to a close debate on S. 2349: an 
     original bill to provide greater transparency in the 
     legislative process.
         Bill Frist, Mitch McConnell, Rick Santorum, Mel Martinez, 
           James Inhofe, Susan Collins, Trent Lott, John E. 
           Sununu, John McCain, Judd Gregg, Norm Coleman, Michael 
           B. Enzi, Wayne Allard, R.F. Bennett, Craig Thomas, 
           Larry E. Craig, George Voinovich, Christopher Bond.

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. By unanimous consent, the mandatory quorum 
call has been waived.
  The question is, Is it the sense of the Senate that debate on S. 
2349, the Legislative Transparency and Accountability Act of 2006, 
shall be brought to a close?
  The yeas and nays are mandatory under the rule. The clerk will call 
the roll.
  The assistant legislative clerk called the roll.
  Mr. McCONNELL. The following Senator was necessarily absent: the 
Senator from Kentucky (Mr. Bunning).
  Further, if present and voting, the Senator from Kentucky (Mr. 
Bunning) would have voted ``yea.''
  Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from Hawaii (Mr. Inouye) is 
necessarily absent.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Are there any other Senators in the Chamber 
desiring to vote?
  The yeas and nays resulted--yeas 51, nays 47, as follows:

                      [Rollcall Vote No. 36 Leg.]

                                YEAS--51

     Alexander
     Allard
     Allen
     Bennett
     Bond
     Brownback
     Burns
     Burr
     Chafee
     Chambliss
     Coburn
     Cochran
     Coleman
     Collins
     Cornyn
     Craig
     Crapo
     DeMint
     DeWine
     Dole
     Domenici
     Ensign
     Enzi
     Graham
     Grassley
     Gregg
     Hagel
     Hatch
     Hutchison
     Inhofe
     Isakson
     Kyl
     Lott
     Lugar
     Martinez
     McCain
     McConnell
     Murkowski
     Roberts
     Santorum
     Sessions
     Shelby
     Smith
     Snowe
     Specter
     Stevens
     Sununu
     Thomas
     Thune
     Voinovich
     Warner

                                NAYS--47

     Akaka
     Baucus
     Bayh
     Biden
     Bingaman
     Boxer
     Byrd
     Cantwell
     Carper
     Clinton
     Conrad
     Dayton
     Dodd
     Dorgan
     Durbin
     Feingold
     Feinstein
     Frist
     Harkin
     Jeffords
     Johnson
     Kennedy
     Kerry
     Kohl
     Landrieu
     Lautenberg
     Leahy
     Levin
     Lieberman
     Lincoln
     Menendez
     Mikulski
     Murray
     Nelson (FL)
     Nelson (NE)
     Obama
     Pryor
     Reed
     Reid
     Rockefeller
     Salazar
     Sarbanes
     Schumer
     Stabenow
     Talent
     Vitter
     Wyden

                             NOT VOTING--2

     Bunning
     Inouye
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. On this vote, the yeas are 51, the nays are 
47. Two-thirds of the Senators voting, a quorum being present, not 
having voted in the affirmative, the motion is rejected.
  Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I enter a motion to reconsider the vote.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The motion to reconsider is entered.
  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, I filed an amendment to the bill on Tuesday 
and look forward to an opportunity to offer that amendment and have it 
considered by the Senate. My amendment is the honest services 
amendment, No. 2924.
  The purpose of my amendment is to articulate more clearly the line 
that cannot be crossed without incurring criminal liability. If we are 
serious about lobbying reform, the Senate will adopt this amendment. It 
was only with the indictments of Jack Abramoff, Michael Scanlon, and 
former Representative Randy ``Duke'' Cunningham that Congress took note 
of the scandal that has grown over the last years. If we are to restore 
public confidence, we need to provide better tools for Federal 
prosecutors to combat public corruption in our Government.
  This amendment creates a better legal framework for combating public 
corruption than currently exists under our criminal laws. It specifies 
the crime of honest services fraud involving Members of Congress and 
prohibits defrauding or depriving the American people of the honest 
services of their elected representatives.
  Under this amendment, lobbyists who improperly seek to influence 
legislation and other official matters by giving expensive gifts, 
lavish entertainment and travel, and inside advice on investments to 
Members of Congress and their staff would be held criminally liable for 
their actions.
  The law also prohibits Members of Congress and their staff from 
accepting these types of gifts and favors, or holding hidden financial 
interests, in return for being influenced in carrying out their 
official duties. Violators are subject to a criminal fine and up to 20 
years' imprisonment, or both.
  This legislation strengthens the tools available to Federal 
prosecutors to combat public corruption in our Government. The 
amendment makes it possible for Federal prosecutors to bring public 
corruption cases without all of the hurdles of having to prove bribery 
or of working with the limited and nonspecific honest services fraud 
language in current Federal law.
  The amendment also provides lobbyists, Members of Congress, and other 
individuals with much-needed notice and clarification as to what kind 
of conduct triggers this criminal offense.
  In addition, my amendment authorizes $25 million in additional 
Federal funds over each of the next 4 years, to give Federal 
prosecutors needed resources to investigate corruption and to hold 
lobbyists and other individuals accountable for improperly seeking to 
influence legislation and other official matters.
  The unfolding public corruption investigations involving lobbyist 
Jack Abramoff and MZM demonstrate that unethical conduct by public 
officials has broad ranging impact. These scandals undermine the 
public's confidence in our Government. Just last week, the Washington 
Post reported that, as an outgrowth of the Cunningham investigation, 
Federal investigators are now looking into contracts awarded by the 
Pentagon's new intelligence agency--the Counterintelligence Field 
Activity--to MZM, Inc., a company run by Mitchell J. Wade who recently 
pleaded guilty to conspiring to bribe Mr. Cunningham.
  The American people expect--and deserve--to be confident that their 
representatives in Congress perform their legislative duties in a 
manner that is beyond reproach and that is in the public interest.
  Because I strongly believe that public service is a public trust, I 
urge all Senators to support this amendment. If we are serious about 
reform and cleaning up this scandal, we will do so.

[[Page S1945]]

  I ask unanimous consent that a copy of my amendment be printed in the 
Record.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

  (Purpose: To make it illegal for anyone to defraud and deprive the 
  American people of the right to the honest services of a Member of 
Congress and to instill greater public confidence in the United States 
                               Congress)

       At the appropriate place, insert the following:

     SEC. __. HONEST SERVICES ACT OF 2006.

       (a) Short Title.--This section may be cited as the ``Honest 
     Services Act of 2006 ''.
       (b) Honest Services Fraud Involving Members of Congress.--
       (1) In general.--Chapter 63 of title 18, United States 
     Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:

     ``Sec. 1351. Honest services fraud involving members of 
       Congress

       ``(a) In General.--Whoever knowingly and willfully 
     executes, or attempts to execute, a scheme or artifice to 
     defraud and deprive the United States, the Congress, or the 
     constituents of a Member of Congress, of the right to the 
     honest services of a Member of Congress by--
       ``(1) offering and providing to a Member of Congress, or an 
     employee of a Member of Congress, anything of value, with the 
     intent to influence the performance an official act; or
       ``(2) being a Member of Congress, or an employee of a 
     Member of Congress, accepting anything of value or holding an 
     undisclosed financial interest, with the intent to be 
     influenced in performing an official act;
     shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than 
     20 years, or both.
       ``(b) Definitions.--In this section:
       ``(1) Honest services.--The term `honest services' includes 
     the right to conscientious, loyal, faithful, disinterested, 
     and unbiased service, to be performed free of deceit, undue 
     influence, conflict of interest, self-enrichment, self-
     dealing, concealment, bribery, fraud, and corruption.
       ``(2) Official act.--The term `official act'--
       ``(A) has the meaning given that term in section 201(a)(3) 
     of this title; and
       ``(B) includes supporting and passing legislation, placing 
     a statement in the Congressional Record, participating in a 
     meeting, conducting hearings, or advancing or advocating for 
     an application to obtain a contract with the United States 
     Government.
       ``(3) Undisclosed financial interest.--The term 
     `undisclosed financial interest' includes any financial 
     interest not disclosed as required by statute or by the 
     Standing Rules of the Senate.
       ``(c) No Inference and Scope.--Nothing in this section 
     shall be construed to--
       ``(1) create any inference with respect to whether the 
     conduct described in section 1351 of this title was already a 
     criminal or civil offense prior to the enactment of this 
     section; or
       ``(2) limit the scope of any existing criminal or civil 
     offense.''.
       (2) Chapter analysis.--The chapter analysis for chapter 63 
     of title 18, United States Code is amended by adding at the 
     end, the following:

``1351. Honest services fraud involving Members of Congress.''.

       (c) Authorization for Additional Personnel to Investigate 
     and Prosecute Honest Services Fraud, Bribery, Graft, and 
     Conflicts of Interest Offenses.--There are authorized to be 
     appropriated to the Department of Justice, including the 
     Public Integrity Section of the Criminal Division, and the 
     Federal Bureau of Investigations, $25,000,000 for each of the 
     fiscal years 2007, 2008, 2009, and 2010, to increase the 
     number of personnel to investigate and prosecute violations 
     of section 1351 and sections 201, 203 through 209, 1001, 
     1341, 1343, and 1346 of title 18, United States Code, as 
     amended by this section.

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