Obama Applauds Senate Ethics Reform Package
Friday, January 19, 2007
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Washington Contact: Robert Gibbs or Tommy Vietor (202) 228-5511
Illinois Contact: Julian Green, (312) 886-0480
Date: January 19, 2007
Obama Applauds Senate Ethics Reform Package
Says Reform will Help Restore Public Trust in Congress
WASHINGTON - Ethics and lobbying reform legislation passed by the Senate late last night contained significant reforms spearheaded by U.S. Senator Barack Obama (D-IL), the Illinois lawmaker said today.
"This historic reform is an enormous step toward restoring the people's faith in government," Obama said. "It will ban the practice of lobbyists currying favor with politicians by giving them free meals and gifts, or by providing subsidized flights on corporate jets, and will require greater disclosure of the huge campaign contributions they collect from their friends and clients. I am very proud to have helped lead this fight with Senator Feingold, and am proud of what the Senate, under Senator Reid's leadership, has accomplished."
Senator Obama has been a strong and consistent advocate of ethics and lobbying reform. Last year, he was one of only 8 Senators to vote against reform legislation taken up in the Senate because he thought the bill was too weak. That legislation did not address some of the largest ethics loopholes, like the ability of lawmakers to accept subsidized flights on corporate jets, or the ability of lobbyists to curry influence by "bundling" large groups of contributions for lawmakers.
In the 110th Congress, Obama worked with Senator Russ Feingold (D-WI) to introduce legislation described as the "gold standard for reform". He then worked with the Senate Leadership to craft strong ethics reform legislation to help restore the public trust in the institution.
The final package included the following provisions that Obama and Feingold advocated through their legislation that became part of the final package that passed last night, including:
- A full ban on gifts and meals from lobbyists including those paid by the firms that employ lobbyists;
- An end to subsidized travel on corporate jets;
- Full disclosure of who's sponsoring earmarks and for what purpose;
- Additional restrictions to close the revolving door between public service and lobbying to ensure that public service isn't all about lining up a high-paying lobbying job; and
- Requiring lobbyists to disclose the contributions that they "bundle" - that is, collect or arrange - for members of Congress, candidates, and party committees.
Obama said the bill will significantly help change the way politics is conducted and policy is pursued in Washington, and will help put the public interest ahead of any special interest.
The bill will also open up the legislative process more to the public. Bills will have to be posted on the Internet for 48 hours before being voted on, giving lawmakers, staff, and the public time to review them. And the bill sends a clear message that conference committees should meet and debate and vote on bills in the open.
Obama said that the one area where he would have liked the bill to be stronger is on ethics enforcement. But that the Senate leadership has assured him that improvement to the ethics enforcement process will be considered in a timely fashion.
Fred Wertheimer, head of the reform organization Democracy 21, said in a statement: "We applaud Senators Russell Feingold (D-WI) and Barack Obama (D-IL) for the outstanding national leadership they have provided in introducing ground-breaking ethics and lobbying reform legislation that set the standard for the Senate bill that passed, and by successfully offering key amendments on the Senate floor that strengthened the pending legislation."