[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 2]
[Senate]
[Page 2232]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                            VOTE EXPLANATION

  Mr. BROWNBACK. Mr. President, I regret that I was unable to vote the 
evening of January 18 on a very significant amendment offered by my 
colleague from Utah. During consideration of S. 1 last week, I was 
concerned with section 220 of the bill, which would have severely 
undermined the ability of Americans to be informed about what is 
happening here in the Capitol and, thereby, to petition the Congress 
with their thoughts. I applaud Senator Bennett for offering his 
amendment to strike these so-called grassroots lobbying provisions from 
the ethics reform bill, and I thank Senate Republican Leader McConnell 
and Senator Bennett for their leadership in ensuring this amendment's 
success. I ask that the Record reflect that, had I been here, I would 
have voted in favor of Senator Bennett's amendment No. 20 last Thursday 
night.
  Additionally, I applaud the Senate's careful consideration and 
passage of S. 1, the Legislative Transparency and Accountability Act. 
Although I was unable to attend the vote on final passage of S. 1, I 
support the bill and hope that a conference to resolve differences 
between the House and Senate passed bills is convened soon. Scandals 
involving lobbyists and members of Congress from both sides of the 
aisle have shaken the American public's confidence in Congress's 
ability to do business objectively and judiciously. Although S. 1 fails 
to address transparency for so-called 527 organizations and fails to 
provide the President the authority to veto wasteful pork projects, 
passage of this bill is an important step toward broadening 
transparency in the legislative process, and I look forward to sending 
a balanced bill to the President's desk. I ask that the Record reflect 
that, had I been here, I would have voted for the bill, just as I voted 
for a similar ethics reform bill on March 29, 2006.

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