Editorial: Keep lobbying reform for Congress simple

Incoming House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid are promising to shake up the bewildering maze of rules, regulations, exceptions and loopholes that make up the current congressional ethics guide to dealing with lobbyists. But rather than adding to or simply rearranging the existing code, there is a simpler, more direct and likely more effective way to deal with the problem at the root of the ethics mess in Congress: Put the House and Senate under the same rules that now cover the White House and executive branch.

President Bush, and indeed every political appointee and career civil servant, must conform to the Standards and Ethical Conduct for Executive Branch Employees, which provides a straightforward set of ground rules on issues like acceptance of gifts, honorariums and the like. Created during the Reagan administration, these rules have worked well for executive branch employees for more than two decades and they will work just as well for the legislative branch.

On gifts, the current congressional code provides that Members and staff cannot accept gifts such as meals worth more than $45 at a time and not more than $100 annually. But here’s the loophole — that rule applies only to gifts from a single lobbyist. That means a medium-size lobbying firm with a dozen or so principals can wine and dine a key member or staffer 24 times. Surely that ought to be more than enough dinners and drinks at Bull Feathers to persuade a recalcitrant guest to reconsider his or her position. The kicker here is that for the most part members and staff are on the honor system in reporting such gifts.

Similar confusion is found in the way the congressional code deals with post-employment lobbying. Former members have to wait a year before lobbying former colleagues, as do the top-most staffers. But the vast majority of congressional staff earn less than the $127,000 annual salary threshold, so the vast majority are free to approach members and former staff colleagues the day after leaving congressional staff. This rule is why so many lobbying firms are made up of former staff members who have the contacts and the access.

By contrast, the executive branch’s code says civil servants and political appointees cannot solicit or accept any gifts from any prohibited source or that is given because of the position held by the employee or appointee. A prohibited source is defined in the code as a person who is seeking official action by the employee’s agency, does business or seeks to do business with the employee’s agency, conducts activities regulated by the employee’s agency or who has interests that may be substantially affected by performance or nonperformance of the employee’s official duties.

In plain English, no gifts. Isn’t that easier than having a bunch of exceptions, permissions, conditions and regulations?

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