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Tuesday, February 28, 2006

No Campaign Finance, Grassroots Disclosure in Rules Markup
Nothing controversial on the lobbying front came out of a Sen. Rules Cmte markup today. The bill would give any senator the ability to strike offensive “out of scope” provisions through a 60-vote point of order without killing an entire bill, however, it does not address issues outside the jurisdiction of the Rules committee, such as campaign finance law or lobbying law changes. These are expected to be addressed in a markup on Thursday in Sen. Homeland Security and Government Affairs committee.

The Hill's take...

Posted by Jennifer Lowe, 11:04:30 PM

HHS Pulls Funding for Silver Ring Thing
Following up on a Watcher article we did in Sept., HHS has agreed to settle the lawsuit that was filed against for providing federal funding to a pro-abstinence that did not seperate the message from the religous componets of the program. The case was brought by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).

For a Roundtable article on the decision.

Posted by Jennifer Lowe, 10:52:46 PM

Friday, February 24, 2006

FEC Set To Vote on Internet March 20
Roll Call offers this article (paid subscription required). A snippet:

FEC Chairman Michael Toner said he favors less restrictions when it comes to the Internet than more.
"What the FEC does in this area will affect the online political activities of millions of Americans," he said. "I also think the FEC should make very clear that the press exemption applies with full force to online activities including the activities of bloggers, who in this society are functioning in my view as press entities."
Fred Wertheimer, president of campaign finance watchdog group Democracy 21, said his group also believes bloggers should be able to express their views on the Internet free of the restraint of campaign finance laws.
But, he said, candidates, parties, corporations and labor unions that are paying for Internet advertising should fall under campaign finance laws.

Posted by Jennifer Lowe, 01:21:29 PM

Thursday, February 23, 2006

Rudman Rept Dropped; Critical of Fannie Mae, Not Enough for Action
A report by former Sen. Warren Rudman, released today, is highly critical of accounting practices at Fannie Mae -- especially actions by its former chief financial officer. But that might not be enough push Sen. Richard Shelby to press for action on a bill to revamp oversight at government-sponsored enterprises. However, many expect Shelby to cave to White House demands on language dealing with portfolios.

Why are we concerned about this?

In the House, the Republican Study Committee promoted language to alter the GSE bill to include a provision that would disqualify nonprofits from receiving money from a new affordable housing fund if they have engaged in voter registration and other nonpartisan voter participation activities or lobbying for certain groups within 12 months of applying for the money. They would also be barred from these activities during the grant period, even if non-federal funds were used to pay for it. More specifically, the bill would sweepingly restrict any group that affiliates with an organization that engages in such activities from applying for funds under the affordable housing fund.

It is not currently in the Senate bill, but nonprofits are watching to ensure that the provision is not included.

For more information on the provision.

Posted by Jennifer Lowe, 04:55:30 PM

Friday, February 17, 2006

Will Earmark Reform Fail Because Members Will Protect Their Money?
Will earmark reform fail as members try to protect their money?

From The Hill:

The building momentum for earmark reform could force lawmakers to cut back significantly on their beloved pork projects, and in the process reduce something that is in short supply on Capitol Hill: bipartisanship.
Securing federal money for local projects regularly unites conservatives and liberals from the same or neighboring states, but future funding for earmarks will probably be dramatically cut now that the anti-pork movement, led by Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and House Majority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio), has gained traction.

Posted by Jennifer Lowe, 08:02:13 PM

Religous Groups Push Back on Travel Ban
From The Hill:

A handful of nonprofit groups that sponsor travel for members of Congress are pushing back against recent proposals to ban privately funded trips, arguing that their activities are far different from the golfing and exotic foreign junkets that have been the centerpiece of recent lobbying scandals.

Posted by Jennifer Lowe, 07:54:42 PM

Wednesday, February 15, 2006

Hastert Pushing Lobbying Bill
House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert on Wednesday gave his fellow Republicans about six weeks to agree upon a plan to overhaul the way lobbyists and members do business.

Since newly-elected Majority Leader John Boehner (R-OH) was recently quoted as saying "when we are ready with a bill, we'll introduce a bill", Hastert's news comes as a surprise to some.

Reportedly, he has told them to come up with something by the end of March.

Posted by Jennifer Lowe, 10:16:36 PM

Thursday, February 09, 2006

Group of Senators Move Towards Earmark Reform
From CQ:

A bipartisan group of 10 senators led by John McCain, R-Ariz., on Thursday announced they were introducing legislation designed to curb the use of earmarks in spending bills.
Their measure, backed by eight Republicans and Democrats Russ Feingold of Wisconsin and Evan Bayh of Indiana, would allow senators to raise a point of order against unauthorized appropriations earmarks. Sixty votes would be needed to overcome the point of order and keep the earmarks in a spending bill.
John Ensign, R-Nev., said ongoing lobbying and influence-peddling scandals had provided an opportunity to overhaul the earmarking process in Congress. “There are times, I think in political life, that you have opportunities to do things, and I think that we are at such a time right now,” he said.

Posted by Jennifer Lowe, 04:33:31 PM

Tuesday, February 07, 2006

Carville and Begala Get into Lobby Reform
Everyone is in the lobby reform game these days! Here is James Carville and Paul Begala's idea in Washington Monthly.

Posted by Jennifer Lowe, 10:45:53 AM

Monday, February 06, 2006

McCain Criticizes Obama on Lobbying Reform
In a letter sent Monday, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) told Sen. Barack Obama that he was guilty of "partisan posturing" on the issue of lobbying ethics reform.

The letter is a response to a letter Obama sent on Feb. 2. In that letter, Obama stated, "I know you have expressed an interest in creating a task force to further study and discuss these matters but I and others in the Democratic Caucus believe the more effective and timely course is to allow the committees of jurisdiction to roll up their sleeves and get to work on writing ethics and lobbying reform legislation that a majority of the Senate can support".

McCain took exception to the idea that creating a bi-partisan task force was a delaying tactic. McCain then took a swipe at the freshman Senator, saying, "I concluded your professed concern for the institution and the public interest was genuine and admirable. Thank you for disabusing me of such notions."

Posted by Jennifer Lowe, 09:56:18 PM

Friday, February 03, 2006

Markup and Hearing Set on Government Reform
On Government Reform bills, two Senate committees plan on a hearing and a markup in the upcoming weeks.

The Senate Rules and Administration Committee: Feb. 8 hearing on possible changes in congressional rules to reform the process of earmarking funds for favored projects. They are expected to push for changes in Senate procedures that will change the process under which earmarks are added to legislation.
The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee:The week of Feb. 27, the committee will hold a markup of broader lobbying reform legislation, expected to deal with such issues as lobbying disclosure and gift and travel restrictions. The Committee has not discussed what bill, of the mountain of lobby reform bills that have been introduced, will be marked up. It has been speculated that they will use Sen. John McCain's bill, (S. 2180) as a base.

Posted by Jennifer Lowe, 10:54:29 AM

Thursday, February 02, 2006

Oakar, Danforth - No More Visits to the "Wellness Center" For You!
On Wednesday, the House passed a resolution, sponsored by Rep. David Dreier (R-CA) revoking the floor and gymnasium privileges of former members who are lobbyists.

Surprisingly, the vote was markedly controversial. At a closed-door meeting earlier in the day, members balked at the resolution, saying they felt blindsided by the proposal that many considered unnecessary. The backlash forced Republican leaders to do some last-minute arm-twisting and persuading.

The House voted, 379-50, in favor of the resolution (H Res 648), which also bars from the gym those members’ spouses who are lobbyists.

Posted by Jennifer Lowe, 10:44:39 AM

Democrats and Republicans Swap Lobby Reform Ideas
Reportedly, Senate Democrats and Republicans sat down on Wednesday to discuss various lobby reform proposals floating around the Congress.

Sen. Rick Santorum (R-PA), the Senate's go-to guy on Lobby Reform, has been sitting down with Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) in an attempt to get a cohesive Republican bil.

Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) has taken the lead for Democrats, saying, " "We [Democrats] already have a good bill. We're going to have an even stronger bill. We will put that on the table. They will put their bill on the table ... and then the real negotiations will begin."

Obama said that he now has a better idea of what proposals the Republicans are thinking of, and this meeting was the begining of bi-partisan discussions - but that the final product depended on the details.

Posted by Jennifer Lowe, 10:35:37 AM

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