Press Releases
Brendan Daly/Nadeam Elshami
202-226-7616
07/30/2007
Pelosi Statement on Lobbying Reform Bill House to Vote on Tomorrow
Washington, D.C. -- Speaker Nancy Pelosi released the
following statement today on the Honest Leadership and Open Government Act,
which the House will vote on tomorrow and the Senate later this week. Below the Speaker's statement is a fact-sheet
on the bill:
“Democrats are following through on our promise to change
the way business is done in
"With the passage of this Honest Leadership and Open
Government Act this week, Congress is demanding on behalf of the American
people an unprecedented level of disclosure, both in quantity and quality, on
the interactions between lobbyists and legislators.
"From the first day of the 110th Congress, we began a
new era of honest, open government, returning this House to the American
people. And with this comprehensive
lobbying reform bill, we are keeping our promise to the American people to make
this Congress the most honest and open in history."
***
Honest Leadership and Open Government Act
• New
transparency for lobbyist bundling and political campaign fund activity, as
well as other financial contributions – requires disclosure when lobbyists
bundle campaign contributions for any federal elected official, candidate,
leadership PAC or national political party; and requires lobbyists to detail
their own campaign contributions, and payments to Presidential libraries,
Inaugural Committees or entities controlled by or named for Members of
Congress.
• Greater
transparency in earmarking and the legislative process – requires that all
earmarks included in bills and conference reports, and their sponsors, be
identified on the Internet at least 48 hours before Senate votes; subjects
“dead of night” additions to conference reports to a 60-vote point of order;
requires Senators to certify that they and their immediate family members have
no financial interest in the earmark; ends the practice of secret Senate holds;
makes conference reports available for public review on the Internet 48 hours
before the vote.
• Lavish
convention parties – prohibits Members of Congress from attending national
political convention parties held in their honor and paid for by lobbyists or
their clients.
• Ends K-Street Project – Prohibits Members
of Congress and their staff from attempting to influence employment decisions
in exchange for political access.
• A strong
lobbyist gift ban – prohibits lobbyists and their clients from giving gifts,
including free meals and tickets, to Senators and their staff; House passed
similar gift ban in rules package in January.
• Limits on
privately funded travel – bars lobbyists and their private-sector clients from
paying for multi-day travel trips by Senators and their staff; House passed
similar travel ban in rules package in January.
• Restrictions
on corporate flights – requires Senators, Senate candidates and Presidential
candidates to pay charter rates for trips on private planes; bars House
candidates from accepting trips on private planes.
• Strong
revolving doors restrictions – prohibits Senators and their senior staff from
gaining undue lobbying access by increasing the “cooling off” period for
Senators from one to two years before they can lobby Congress; prohibits senior
Senate staff from lobbying contacts with the entire Senate for one year,
instead of just their former employing office.
• Expands
public disclosure of lobbyist activities – requires lobbyists to file reports
on their lobbying twice as often each year, and for the first time to file them
electronically in a public, searchable database; and increases civil and
criminal penalties for knowingly and corruptly violating lobbying disclosure
rules.
• Congressional
Pension Accountability – Denies Congressional retirement benefits to Members of
Congress who are convicted of bribery, perjury and other similar crimes.