Senate Moving on Ethics Bill

[Omaha Steve]

http://apnews.excite.com/article/20070109/D8MI1MF81.html

Senate Moving on Ethics Bill

Jan 9, 5:45 PM (ET)

By JIM ABRAMS

WASHINGTON (AP) - Senators moved Tuesday to put more muscle into legislation to sanitize their tarnished image with proposals requiring lawmakers to pay charter rates for corporate jet rides and shell out the full cost for Skybox tickets to sporting events.

Members of Congress need to "demonstrate once and for all that we care more about representing the American people than the perks of power," Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., said.

Picking up on the anti-corruption theme that helped bring them to power, Democrats in both the House and Senate have started off with legislation to ban gifts and meals from lobbyists, limit privately paid travel and shine more light on the special projects, or earmarks, that have proliferated in legislation.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and Republican leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., on Tuesday offered several alternatives aimed at strengthening the Senate bill, which has been criticized as being inadequate in several key areas.

FULL story at link.