[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 15 (Thursday, January 25, 2007)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1185-S1186]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                             ETHICS REFORM

  Mr. LEVIN. Mr. President, I rise today to speak on the lobbying and 
ethics reform bill that the Senate has passed.
  In the early 1990s, I along with several colleagues, including 
Senator William Cohen, embarked on a journey to enact meaningful 
lobbying and ethics reform. While we had been assured by colleagues 
that this was a monumental and perhaps impossible undertaking, we 
nonetheless forged ahead. Decade after decade, Congress had tried to 
close loopholes that had existed for almost 50 years, which kept 
lobbying activities in the dark.
  In 1995, we finally succeeded in passing the Lobbying Disclosure Act. 
Our bill, for the first time, opened up the world of lobbying, and the 
billions spent in it, to the light of day. That act required paid 
professional lobbyists to register and disclose whom they represent, 
how much they are paid, and the issues on which they are lobbying.
  As much as we knew that the Lobbying Disclosure Act was a real step 
forward, we knew that like all procedural reforms, it too would 
eventually need updating. Inevitably, lawyers and lobbyists would find 
loopholes and create new methods to dance around the law's intent.
  We have seen this dance prominently over the past few years. From 
super-lobbyist Jack Abramoff's attempts to peddle influence, to 
Congressman Duke Cunningham's abuse of the appropriations process, it 
is obvious that the time to close these loopholes has come.
  The bill that the Senate just passed brings much needed reforms, many 
of which I sought in the original Lobbying Disclosure Act over a decade 
ago. It goes after not only the real problems that have arisen over the 
past few years, but as the perception of corruption that is sometimes 
the effect of too little disclosure and rules which are too weak.
  One of the most important reforms in S. 1 is a strict curb on gifts 
by lobbyists to Members of Congress. These are perks that have no place 
in Government. The new rules in this bill will eliminate these gifts.
  I am also pleased at the final outcome of the strong earmark reform 
provisions in this bill. Too many earmarks are added in the dead of 
night or buried in conference reports so dense that the average 
American has no idea where their tax dollars are going. The language 
can also be ambiguous to the point where we don't even know who is the 
intended beneficiary. This bill will require full and open disclosure 
of earmarks, which I hope will help to ensure the quality of the 
projects which are funded.
  Strong travel restrictions are also an essential component of this 
bill. The new rules will ensure that Members traveling on corporate 
jets would have to reimburse at the charter rate, not as is now the 
case merely at the level of a first class commercial ticket.
  While I applaud passage of these strong reforms, I believe we needed 
to go even further. One of the most important provisions in this bill 
is one that I worked on with Senator Lieberman, which would have 
finally closed the major loophole that exists under current law that 
allows lobbyists to conceal millions of dollars worth of expenditures 
spent in stimulating ``grassroots'' lobbying efforts, or what has been 
described as ``astroturf'' lobbying.
  Ten years ago, when we enacted the Lobbying Disclosure Act, it 
required paid lobbyists to disclose the amounts that they spend to try 
to influence Congress and the executive branch. However, under the LDA, 
lobbyists are not required to disclose how much they spend in efforts 
to persuade others to help them make their case. In the mid-1990s, the 
Wall Street Journal estimated that major lobbying firms spent almost 
half a billion dollars every year for this purpose. The amounts have 
undoubtedly grown substantially since then. Yet these amounts still go 
undisclosed on the lobbying disclosure forms filed by those firms. The 
disclosure provision in S. 1 was intended to close this loophole and 
require paid lobbyists to disclose all of their expenditures, instead 
of just some of them.
  This provision would have had no impact at all on citizens who 
contact their Government, regardless whether they decide to make those 
contacts on their own initiative or at the suggestion of others. It 
would have had no impact on religious organizations, unions, 
universities or other employers who suggest that their own members or 
employees contact the Government. It was aimed at paid lobbyists who 
spend large sums of money to persuade others to contact the Government 
in support of a lobbying campaign that they are conducting on behalf of 
a client. These paid lobbyists would have been required to disclose how 
much they are

[[Page S1186]]

spending on such efforts. This disclosure, like lobbying disclosure in 
general, would have helped inform the public of pressures being brought 
to bear on their representatives by paid interests.
  Even though identical language was passed by Congress last year when 
we considered a lobbying reform bill, it was stripped from the final 
version of this legislation. I nonetheless look forward to examining 
this issue in the future and hope to work with Chairman Lieberman in 
the Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee this year to 
look for solutions to this loophole.
  I was pleased, however, that a provision I authored last year to 
require reporting by foreign lobbyists was included in the final passed 
bill. Foreign lobbyists file their disclosures under the Foreign Agents 
Registry Act. The forms are difficult to find and almost as hard to 
understand. My provision will require a publicly accessible, electronic 
database containing FARA disclosures in the same format that will be in 
place for registrants under the Lobbying Disclosure Act.
  A number of scandals over the past few years have shown us that 
ethics and lobbying reform are vital. While this bill was not perfect, 
I believe it will go a long way to clean up corruption in Washington. 
This bipartisan effort in the Senate proves that we are up to the task 
of addressing corruption and perceived corruption in Congress. I am 
hopeful that the House will soon consider its own lobbying reform 
legislation and that we will have strong provisions signed into law.
  But signing this legislation into law cannot be the end of our 
efforts. The 12 years since the passage of the Lobbying Disclosure Act 
have shown the lengths to which some will go to find loopholes in the 
law to circumvent the reforms and undermine the safeguards that we have 
enacted. We must remain vigilant to protect the integrity of the 
legislative process in the coming years and be prepared, if necessary, 
to revisit the issue with future legislation.

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