U.S. Senator Ken Salazar

Member of the Agriculture, Energy and Veterans Affairs Committees

 

2300 15th Street, Suite 450 Denver, CO 80202 | 702 Hart Senate Building, Washington, D.C. 20510

 

 

For Immediate Release

January 18, 2006

CONTACT:    Cody Wertz – Comm. Director

                        303-455-7600

Andrew Nannis  – Press Secretary

                        202-224-5852


 Sen. Salazar Helps Push for Stricter Rules Against Lobbying, Institutes Policy for all Salazar Staff

Washington, DC – Today, Sen. Ken Salazar stood with members of the Democratic Caucus in support of the “Honest Leadership and Open Government Act,” a bill aimed at stricter controls on lobbyists, increased transparency in the legislative process and restoring public trust in government.

“I support these tough new restrictions because they prevent the wants of special interest groups from outweighing the needs of working families,” said Salazar. “I agree with those Republicans who have openly stated they have too much power and change is necessary. For more than a decade Washington has been shrouded in a culture of corruption - we can no longer afford to allow this to exist.”

The Honest Leadership and Open Government Act will be introduced in the Senate later this week. Provisions of the Act will include:

  • Closing the revolving door by doubling from one year to two the cooling-off period during which lawmakers are prohibited from lobbying their former offices;
  • Toughen public disclosure of lobbyist activity;
  • A ban on gifts and travel from or paid by lobbyists;
  • Shut down pay-to-play schemes such as the “K Street Project”;
  • Mandate disclosure of outside job negotiations by lawmakers;
  • Prohibit inserting “dead of night” special interest provisions in legislation;
  • Impose zero tolerance for contract cheaters; and
  • Prohibit cronyism in key appointments.

Salazar added, “Regardless of what becomes of any legislation, I will be applying the rules proposed today to all my employees in Colorado and Washington, DC effective immediately. If the American people cannot trust their government to act in their best interests, at least the people of Colorado can trust this office to do so.”

The proposals are in response to several recent scandals, including:

  • High-powered lobbyist Jack Abramoff’s improper relationships with Majority Leader Tom DeLay and Chairman of the House Administration Committee Bob Ney.
  • Representative Duke Cunningham’s resignation amidst a bribery charge.
  • DeLay’s ongoing money laundering trial.
  • The Administration appointing long-time friends to key positions they are unqualified to fill, such as Michael Brown at FEMA.

###