Ethics Reform Bill Passes Easily in Senate

WASHINGTON — A top-to-bottom overhaul of congressional ethics and lobbying laws sailed through by an 83-14 vote Thursday in the Senate, where the only opposition came from those who said the measure wasn't tough enough.

In the aftermath of influence peddling scandals that have contributed to low ratings for Congress in opinion polls, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid predicted the bill "will significantly reform the way business gets done in Washington."

"The American people are sick and tired of the corruption that has plagued this city for the past six years," the Nevada Democrat said.

The legislation bans most corporate-paid travel and gifts for all lawmakers, requires senators to pay full charter rates when using corporate jets, and bars them from working as lobbyists for two years after they leave the Senate.

Candidates would have to report "bundled" contributions that lobbyists have collected for their campaigns.

The bill also requires public disclosure — 48 hours before the Senate votes on them — of "earmarks," which are projects such as highways and bridges that lawmakers attach to spending bills for their home states or tax law changes benefiting a select industry. (The House earlier this year began requiring publication of earmarks.)

The congressional rules changes, the most sweeping in at least three decades, won overwhelming approval in the House earlier this week. The measure now goes to the president's desk for a signature.

Passage of the bill marked a milestone for the new Democratic majority, whose leaders took their posts last January amid promises to clean up Capitol Hill.

Even as Reid and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California were completing the legislation, a poll released by the Pew Center for the People and the Press indicated continued image problems for Congress. Only 33 percent of respondents said they approved of the Democratic leadership's job performance.

A handful of Republican critics, including presidential candidate and long-time reform advocate Sen. John McCain of Arizona, staged a last ditch stand against the legislation. They charged the measure fails to bring into the sunlight the lists of earmarks and their sponsors.

"Year after year I have come to the floor and read list after list of the ridiculous items we're spending money on," McCain told his colleagues.

He said the requirement of public disclosure for earmarks had been watered down from an earlier version. He said the majority leader could now avoid public release of so-called "pork-barrel" programs before the Senate votes on them.

Joining the opponents of the bill, Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, said that transparency is the only way to regain public confidence in Congress.

The billions of dollars spent on earmarks each year are "not a symptom of the problem" of Congressional corruption, Cornyn said. "This is the root cause."

Democrats held that the bill would bring earmarks out of the shadows. Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois said the legislation will bring "a level of transparency never before seen in the Congress."

A coalition of private "good government" groups applauded the measures as a major step toward openness.

"For too long the business of Congress has been shrouded in secrecy," said Meredith McGehee of the Campaign Legal Center.

"With this legislation, when members go back home to the fish fry or the milking contest, they'll be shaking hands with a better informed electorate," she said.

The bill also had the backing of the senior Democratic senator, Robert C. Byrd of West Virginia, who for years has been known as the "king of pork" for his ability to bring federal dollars to his home state.

"I am committed to greater disclosure," Byrd said.

But as to those who say earmarks are inherently wasteful, he had this to say: "Hogwash."