Senate passes Democrats' ethics bill

[ProSense]

Senate passes Democrats' ethics bill

By JIM ABRAMS, Associated Press Writer 9 minutes ago

WASHINGTON - The Senate, responding to voter frustration with corruption and special interest influence in Washington, on Thursday overwhelmingly approved far-reaching ethics and lobbying reform legislation.

Under the bill, passed 96-2, senators will give up gifts and free travel from lobbyists, pay more for travel on corporate jets and make themselves more accountable for the pet projects they insert into bills.

Snip...

The ethics and lobbying legislation would:

_Bar lawmakers from accepting gifts and travel paid for by lobbyists.

_Extend from one to two years the time a former member must wait before he can engage in lobbying activities.

_Deny pensions to lawmakers convicted of serious crimes.

_Require more reporting by lobbyists on their activities.

_Require public disclosure of those home-state projects.

_Require senators hitching rides on private jets to pay full charter rates rather than the current practice of paying the far cheaper equivalent of a first class ticket.

_Require reporting by lobbyists who obtain small donations from clients and then "bundle" them into larger contributions to politicians.

_Prevent spouses of sitting members from lobbying.

more...

[Digit]

1. It's a start, at least n/t

[Arkana]

2. Is that a light at the end of the tunnel I see?

[badgerpup]

3. K & R, but....

...didn't this one get filibustered by one of the repubs?
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/17/AR2007011702443_pf.html

Senate Republicans scuttled broad legislation last night to curtail lobbyists' influence and tighten congressional ethics rules, refusing to let the bill pass without a vote on an unrelated measure that would give President Bush virtual line-item-veto power.

The bill could be brought back up later this year. Indeed, Democrats will try one last time today to break the impasse. But its unexpected collapse last night infuriated Democrats and the government watchdog groups that had been pushing it since the lobbying scandals that rocked the last Congress. Proponents charged that Republicans had used the spending-control measure as a ruse to thwart ethics rules they dared not defeat in a straight vote.

"It's as obvious as the sun coming up somewhere in this world that they tried to kill this bill," a furious Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) said last night in an interview. "And all 21 Republican senators up for reelection are going to have to explain how they brought down the most significant reform ever to come before this Congress. They brought this baby down."

But Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said insistence on a line-item-veto vote was proof that the GOP is serious about passing the toughest possible overhaul of the way Congress conducts its business. Efforts to give Bush power to strike individual items from spending bills have been struck down by the Supreme Court, but Senate Republicans insist that the latest version will pass constitutional muster.
...more....
:nuke: :grr:


:kick:

[meldroc]

6. The GOP was trying to jam in the line-item veto.

At the last minute, the Democrats agreed to let the GOP shove the line-item-veto amendment into the minimum wage increase bill instead of the ethics bill, as the amendment's more likely to get ixnayed when it goes through the House/Senate conference committee.

[deepthought42]

7. *sigh of relief*

Good. The idea of * getting line-item-veto.... :scared::scared::scared::scared::scared:

[Lasher]

18. Well, it's obvious that Senate Republicans are still getting their agenda from the White House

First order of business in the Senate and they threaten to block it if we won't give Junior the line item veto. Junior has lost his lapdog majority in Congress so his very first legislative move is to try to transfer their authority to himself.

So we agree to let them attach this nightmare to the minimum wage bill? We shouldn't have compromised. Let them take the heat for blocking reform.

Who in their right mind would want to take away Congressional authority and give it to this president? I'm in total agreement with Senator Byrd on this one. I wouldn't be surprised to see him filibuster when it comes up again.

[Jeffersons Ghost]

4. K&R...

[kentuck]

5. Brownback and Hatch voted against it.

Hmmmm...

[kentuck]

10. Correction:

Coburn and Hatch voted against it...?

[derby378]

8. YAAAY!

:woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo:

:applause: :applause:

[redqueen]

9. That should say "...Prevent spouses of sitting members from lobbying *in the future*"

Cause those doing it now are apparently grandfathered, and will be allowed to continue raking in the payola, if i'm not mistaken.

[Lasher]

17. That sucks, none should be grandfathered

This is one of my favorite parts of the legislation. Spouses should not be permitted to continue the practice.

[IWantAChange]

11. If the country isn't impressed with the Dem Congress so far then

Repug BizzaroWorld is even stronger than I feared.

[TellTheTruth82]

12. Grandfathered

Yes, portions of it are grandfathered, such as family members being lobbyists. The funny thing was when the Republicans introduced their ethics reform bill, which was a copy of the one the House had just passed, and the Senate turned it down because it came from the Republicans, ergo, it must be bad.....

[ShortnFiery]

14. How thoughtful of you to point that *fact* out ...

have a link? :eyes:

[BleedingHeartPatriot]

22. you'll find TTT82 embraces truthiness. Facts apparently get in the way.

:rofl: MKJ

[ShortnFiery]

13. Senator Reid's wife needs to get off the lobbying gravy train post haste!

"Prevent spouses of sitting members from lobbying."

Our party's legislative leaders (and family members) should be above the mere appearance of impropriety. Even if Reid's spouse is "Grandfathered" because he's lead in the Senate, she needs to quit. If she doesn't, I think Reid should relinquish his leadership position in the Senate.

[heinz]

15. I will beleive it when I see it

For as long as I have been alive, 40 years, seems like every new Congress we get has some kind of election reform law or lobby reform laws, whatever. I haven't seen one thing change. They are still taking tons of money and going on free trips, etc. I haven't seen one damn change in 40 years. Someone please tell me what they are doing different now than say, in the 50 or 60's? Oh, I guess they can't smoke now in the lobby or grab their interns asses, oh, hang on, their still grabbing their interns asses, my mistake.

[sonias]

16. Brownback and Hatch - two very corrupt Senators

They need to go.

Sonia

[fuzzyball]

19. About time and good job senate!

[ToeBot]

20. I knew Orrin Hatch would be one of those voting against this...

Smarmy rat bastard.

[lligrd]

21. Dems Have Done A Great Job

and I am very heartened by most of their passages. But I still say that the pension portion of this is a slippery slope. I hate to see us give in to revenge tactics just as much as I disapproved of the chimp for doing so. (Okay not quite so much, since this one doesn't involve the deaths of people - biut I still object.)