GOP backs new curbs on lobbyists' influence

WASHINGTON -- Rushing to blunt the effects of a burgeoning influence-peddling scandal, Capitol Hill Republicans yesterday endorsed new ethics rules for lawmakers, including bans on all privately funded travel, tighter limits on gifts, and more restrictions on former senators and House members who leave office and become lobbyists.

The ban on travel would crack down on a loophole used extensively by disgraced Republican lobbyist Jack Abramoff to dodge ethics regulations. Under current law, lobbyists can't pay directly for members' travel, but Abramoff and others have arranged exotic trips for members -- free of charge -- through corporate sponsors who want to influence legislation.

In addition, GOP leaders said they want to lower the value limit on gifts lawmakers can accept from $50 to $20; increase from one year to two the ''cooling-off period" for former legislators before they can begin lobbying their colleagues; and limit lawmakers' insertions of ''earmarked" special projects in spending bills, a practice lobbyists have long favored as a way to show off their influence.

''To regain the trust of the American people in this institution, we must go further than prosecuting the bad actors," said House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert, Republican of Illinois. ''We need to reform the rules so that it is clear, beyond a shadow of a doubt, what is ethically acceptable."

In an area that could draw partisan conflict, Hastert said Republicans intend to require ''527" interest groups to more fully report details of their fund-raising and spending activities. The independent groups, named after the federal tax code that governs them, were a boon to both parties in the 2004 presidential election, though more spent money on behalf of Democratic issues and candidates.

On Feb. 1 -- the first day for legislation during the 2006 House session -- the House will vote on banning former members who are lobbyists from entering the House gym and coming onto the House floor, said David Dreier, House Rules Committee chairman. Dreier said the House probably will also move to prevent lawmakers who are convicted of felonies connected to their official duties from receiving congressional pensions.

That issue surfaced after former representative Randy ''Duke" Cunningham, a California Republican, resigned and was sentenced to prison for receiving hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes from defense contractors. Despite his conviction, Cunningham is still eligible to receive a pension of about $40,000 a year, and it is not clear whether he can be stripped of his pension retroactively.

The proposals, outlined by House and Senate leaders in separate announcements at the Capitol yesterday, reflect efforts by top Republicans to distance themselves from the influence-peddling scandal involving Abramoff, a well-connected, well-financed GOP lobbyist whose power once reached through the highest levels of Congress and the White House.

House and Senate leaders have some different ideas; senators, for instance, are discussing strict limits on lobbying by lawmakers' spouses and other relatives, and Hastert wants the House to pass a blanket ban on free meals from lobbyists or their corporate interests. Legislators plan to spend much of February thrashing out the various proposals, with an eye toward finishing a bill with Democrats by mid-March.

''I'm sure that over time we can reconcile those differences, since we share a common goal," said Senator John McCain, Republican of Arizona. ''We're really reaching a point where the American people have said, 'Enough.' "

The ethics push was jump-started by Abramoff's plea deal last month in connection with a scheme to defraud his clients and buy influence with members of Congress. He has been directly linked with two top House GOP leaders -- former majority leader Tom DeLay of Texas and former House administration committee chairman Bob W. Ney of Ohio. Both worked with Abramoff on legislation and accepted campaign donations from his clients, though both deny wrongdoing.

In addition, Abramoff's agreement to plead guilty and cooperate with prosecutors has many on Capitol Hill worried that the investigation will snare even more high-ranking GOP lawmakers -- particularly bad news during a year when all House incumbents are up for reelection. Democrats say they intend to use ethics as an issue against Republicans.

The GOP announcements preempted the proposals Democrats are to unveil today. Their proposal would ban any gift or meal from a lobbyist and would change legislative rules to end practices that Democrats say have lead to Republican abuses.

Senate minority leader Harry Reid dismissed the GOP proposals as ''minor wrist slapping and good public relations stunts by the same people responsible for this mess."

''Some problems have no legislative fix, and the Republican culture of corruption is one of them," said Reid, Democrat of Nevada. ''Democrats will lead the tough reforms, because we owe it to the American people to stand up for their interests over special interests."

Democrats contended that the Republicans who want reform are the same ones who rejected similar changes Democrats wanted. In addition, many of the Republican leaders who are demanding the changes were close to Abramoff.

Hastert and his political action committee, for example, raked in $58,500 in campaign donations from Abramoff and his clients since 1999, the third-most of any lawmaker, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, an independent group that tracks campaign financing. Shortly after Abramoff was indicted, the speaker announced that he would donate all the money from the lobbyist and his clients to charity.

The Senate Republicans' point man for reform is Senator Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania, who has been a key player in the ''K Street Project," described by Democrats as a GOP scheme to control lobbying by pushing firms to hire Republicans and punishing them for working with Democrats. Santorum said yesterday that his regular meetings with K Street lobbyists are aimed at coordinating the GOP message, not landing jobs for the party.

''If you're going to affect public policy in a positive way, you've got to get your message out," Santorum said. ''It has not been about putting pressure on people to hire individuals."

Hastert also tried to separate himself from Abramoff yesterday, and even mispronounced his name at the press conference: ''A year ago most people around Congress couldn't tell you who Jack Abrahamoff [sic] was and didn't know who his associates were or what connections there are."

Larry Noble, executive director of the Center for Responsive Politics, said the Republican proposals could change how Washington does business -- but not without stricter enforcement.

''They need to get some real teeth in it," Noble said. ''They can pass the strictest ban they want, but without an enforcement mechanism, it's meaningless."

Representative Martin T. Meehan, a Lowell Democrat who filed a lobbying bill last year, said he questions whether including 527 groups in a reform package could slow changes. Meehan agrees that the groups need greater disclosure, but some Democrats and some Republicans have a stake in maintaining the status quo.

''It runs the potential of making it less likely to get bipartisan reform," Meehan said. ''There are a lot of good ideas out there, and I'm hopeful that we can pass a meaningful law."