First Steps On Curbing Congressional Corruption

In its opening session, the new Congress took the first critical steps toward changing the way business is done in Washington, D.C. In January, the House voted 430 to 1 and the Senate voted 96 to 2 to end lobbyist-funded trips and gifts.

We lobbied for the new rules, which are aimed at reducing the access that powerful corporations and other special interests gain by purchasing meals, buying premium seats at sporting events, or sponsoring golf junkets in Scotland—any method of subsidizing perks for lawmakers and their families.

“This overwhelming support for new restrictions sends a powerful message that the new Congress is taking the need for reform seriously,” said Democracy Advocate Gary Kalman. “This move is a sea change from the ill-conceived and ineffectual bill considered and passed by the House during the scandal-plagued session last year.”

The new rules do indeed represent a “strong first step.” While U.S. PIRG’s Kalman praised the new leadership for listening to voters and prioritizing the ethics and lobby rules changes, a lack of effective enforcement is still a serious concern.

“The new rules are only as effective as the ability to enforce them,” noted Kalman.

Elected officials have shown their reluctance to investigate or prosecute fellow members of Congress. In fact, it was a whistle-blower taking his story to the media and the Department of Justice that prompted the exposure of Jack Abramoff—not the ethics committees of the House and Senate.

Considering that committees are comprised of colleagues who rely on one another’s support for legislation or campaign contributions, ethics enforcement that relies on self-policing creates an inherent conflict of interest.
U.S. PIRG, along with other reform advocates, is urging Congress to replace the current system of self-policing with independent oversight.

House Debates Enforcement
Speaker Nancy Pelosi (Calif.) appointed a special House task force to examine how state governments have handled enforcing the ethics and lobby rules for state legislators.

In response, U.S. PIRG released a report, “Honest Enforcement: What Congress Can Learn From Independent State Ethics Commissions.”

The report analyzed the experience of the 23 states that have created commissions, boards or offices that operate free of partisan interference. In many cases, state PIRGs have led the charge for such independent groups, like the one recently formed in North Carolina. U.S. PIRG urged the task force to adopt the best practices of the state commissions in developing its recommendations. The debate reaches the full House after May 1, when the task force is expected to issue its report.