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On the Issues
Ethics and Lobbying Reform
Citizens must be confident that their elected officials will adhere to the highest ethical standards, and that government will be accountable, responsive, and effective.
When the 110th Congress convened under new leadership in January 2007, the first priority was to address the severe erosion of public trust in government that had occurred in the wake of the Jack Abramoff investigation and other ethics scandals.
Immediately after convening, the House adopted a comprehensive package of rules and ethics reforms designed to clean up the policymaking and legislative processes. The new rules package broke the link between lobbyists and legislators by allowing no gifts, no private jets, and no meals from lobbyists. Among many other reforms, it also established new disclosure requirements for earmarks sponsored both by members of Congress and by the President.
In September 2007, Congress went further, enacting the most sweeping lobbying reform in a generation: the Honest Leadership and Open Government Act. I strongly supported this legislation, which expanded public disclosure of Members’ travel and finances and increased disclosure requirements for lobbyists’ activities, including their contributions to lawmakers.
I also have been involved in recommending additional House reforms as a member of the bipartisan Special Task Force on Ethics Enforcement. Our task force’s final proposal, which the House approved in March, will establish an independent Office of Congressional Ethics (OCE) comprised of outside experts. This independent panel will review incoming ethics complaints and then refer matters to the House Ethics Committee when further action is warranted.
I am hopeful that these reforms will go a long way toward restoring the transparency, accountability, and integrity of Congress. In the meantime, I will continue to work with like-minded colleagues on both sides of the aisle to hold public officials accountable to the citizens they serve.
Related Information
Earmarks: You can see a full list of approved projects in the FY08 Consolidated Appropriations Act that I requested, along with a detailed description of the project.
Summary of House Ethics Rules
Federal Whistleblower Hotline
Congressional Lobbying Disclosure Regulations
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