GOP warms to curb on lobbying

WASHINGTON -- Worried that the case of disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff may trigger a backlash at the polls this fall, Congress is showing new interest in sweeping changes to rules on lobbying, with Republican leaders poised to embrace major alterations they'd rejected when Democrats introduced them last year.

Yesterday, House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert announced that he would ''move forward aggressively and quickly to have the House of Representatives address lobbying reform."

''Now is the time for action," said Hastert, an Illinois Republican. He directed a top lieutenant, House Rules Committee chairman David Dreier, to spearhead the effort.

Senate majority leader Bill Frist also publicly committed to changing laws and legislative rules to ''improve transparency and accountability," shortly after Abramoff pleaded guilty last week in connection with a bribery scheme.

The changes being discussed include requirements that lobbyists disclose all contacts with lawmakers; a prohibition on lobbyists giving gifts or arranging trips for members of Congress; and sharp curbs on ''earmarked" special projects in spending bills, which lawmakers sometimes use to reward lobbyists.

Though leading Republicans resisted Democrats' attempts at changes last year, the party leadership fears that lawmakers' troubles -- including former House majority leader Tom DeLay's indictment, former representative Randy ''Duke" Cunningham's bribery conviction, and any members who wind up implicated in the Abramoff affair -- could stir voter anger during this year's midterm elections.

Democrat-sponsored bills that were largely ignored when they were filed last year are suddenly getting renewed attention on Capitol Hill, generating optimism about the possibility of meaningful overhauls passing Congress.

''The Abramoff scandal and the other scandals make it more likely that Congress will feel forced to act on lobbying and ethics reform," said Representative Martin T. Meehan, a Lowell Democrat who proposed a package of lobbying rules last year. ''It takes a scandal to get these types of things passed."

The clamor for lobbying reform comes amid a House leadership challenge that forced DeLay on Saturday to renounce claims to the majority leader's post. The leaders of the effort to replace DeLay say they'll be looking for a new majority leader who is scandal-free, and who has ideas about addressing laws and rules that have proven deficient.

''We can't replace Tom DeLay with someone else who's going to be indicted," said Representative Charles Bass, a New Hampshire Republican who launched a petition to force new leadership elections to replace DeLay.

Representative Jeff Flake, an Arizona Republican who teamed with Bass to push for a new majority leader, wrote a letter to Hastert on Thursday asking him to join in cracking down on lawmakers' earmarked special projects.

Flake's proposal, which he said has 22 Republican cosponsors, would allow any House member to force a floor vote on any special project included in a bill. That would force lawmakers to include only projects they can justify as essential federal expenditures, Flake said.

''We have set up a system here that just breeds corruption," Flake said of the ease with which House members can insert special projects at the behest of lobbyists.

The proposal on earmarks joins a flurry of competing and sometimes overlapping bills that will be hashed over by Republican leaders in the coming weeks. House Democrats are pushing to ban lawmakers from accepting lobbyist-sponsored travel, prevent former members of Congress from lobbying on the House floor, and crack down on House leaders' practice of holding open votes beyond time limits by promising pet projects.

A bipartisan group led by Senator John McCain, Republican of Arizona, and Senator Joseph I. Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, would require lobbyists to disclose their expenditures on grass-roots activities like rallies, mailings, and telephone campaigns. It would also force lawmakers and staff to report any gifts they receive that are worth more than $20, down from the current level of $50.

Meehan's proposal would require lobbyists to report all contact they have with members of Congress or top officials at executive agencies, boost fines for lobbying offenses, and vastly increase the amount of information about lobbying activities that is publicly available.

Some of the proposals have the lobbying world of Washington's K Street concerned. R. Bruce Josten, the US Chamber of Commerce's chief lobbyist, said a lobbying bill appears inevitable in the wake of Abramoff's plea, but said he fears Congress could overreact.

Proposals in the McCain and Meehan bills to require firms to file disclosure reports four times a year instead of two would mean additional paperwork for lobbying firms, Josten said. If Congress isn't careful, it could enact harmful changes that would slow the legislative process and push lobbying expenses even higher, he said.

''It could really go far," Josten said. ''Go after the bad people. Don't overreach here, because it's easy to overreach."

But government watchdog groups say they'll follow the debate closely to make sure that any changes are meaningful.

Amid what could become one of the biggest congressional scandal in decades, it's vital that Congress cracks down on lobbyist-sponsored travel, the enforcement of lobbying laws, and the ''revolving door" between the public sector and the lucrative field of lobbying, said Fred Wertheimer, president of Democracy 21, an advocacy group.

''The real battle isn't whether something gets done, but whether real and comprehensive reforms are enacted, as opposed to the cosmetic efforts that some will no doubt bring," Wertheimer said.

No matter what is enacted, Democrats say ethics in government represents a powerful issue for them to take into the November congressional elections. Representative Barney Frank, Democrat of Newton, said restoring ethics to government will form a key part of Democrats' message in the 2006 elections.

''There are some of these things Republicans will feel they have to do," said Frank, who has proposed a package of House rules changes. ''It's helpful to us, and the more they resist it, the more helpful it will be."

Rick Klein can be reached at rklein@globe.com.