On Saturday, I had a discussion with Russ Verney, who works on special projects for UWSA Dallas. He had not heard of the Lautenberg/Wellstone legislation, but seemed interested after reading the one-page summary I gave him. I am mailing him back issues of these daily newsletters.

The number of people who haven't heard of L/W is almost as large as the number of people who have slept with Madonna. C'mon folks - pass on the word about lobbyist gift reform.

GIVE AND TAKE

A correspondent, who told me he has already faxed Congress regarding Lautenberg/Wellstone (two gold stars!), wrote:

>Measures such as the Lautenberg/Wellstone proposal and others which >require that Congress itself comply with all laws, while appealing, >do very little to address what we should all be working toward as >the first priority: Responsible representative government.

The rest of the letter promotes an aggressive agenda of recalling our unresponsive legislators, an ambitious goal which we all would love to succeed.

In the meantime, there are two good reasons for taking on something relatively minor like lobbyist gift reform:

1) Nothing succeeds like success.

In war, you take one hill at a time even though your eventual goal is to capture the enemy's headquarters. The news of each little victory cheers the soldiers on for the long war.

Lately, the enemy is taking a lot of big hills. As a morale builder, the citizens need a win right away. The Lautenberg/Wellstone amendment has a chance of passing if it hits the right stride. There is no way that Members of Congress or corporations can openly oppose it, because there is no excuse for the present system of legalized graft. And it gives us a talking point to the media for the short term.

After this victory, we can choose a little bigger goal, then a bigger goal, and so on. Each time, we are building our resume as an effective citizen action organization, while making it fun to participate. And at each step, we pick up new members.

There is a concept in self employment called "nickels." It isn't the million-dollar seller that makes most small businesses succeed. It is the accumulation of little dribs and drabs of steady sales items. Each item brings in a few more nickels, which eventually make the difference between success and bankruptcy. Lautenberg/Wellstone is one of those citizen action "nickels."

2) It isn't really so minor.

If organizations are willing fork over big bucks to buy a weekend of a Senator's time, then it clearly must benefit their bottom lines more than TV advertising or building a good product. They spend quality time building personal friendships while we can't even get an appointment with our Senators. They make their case for preferential laws over drinks by the fireplace, while we write letters and get computerized form letters in response.

If a policeman accepts such a gift from someone on his beat, we call it a bribe, which is illegal. There is no reason we can't make the same rules for Congress. Then, at least, the lobbyists have to meet with Members during the work week like the rest of us. In doing so, we will take away a major source of their access.

ACTION NOW

For the Senate:

Contact your senators asking them to support the Lautenberg/Wellstone Gift Reform legislation. Say that it will be proposed as an amendment to a bill in the next 1-3 weeks. Offer to mail or fax them a copy of the release you received in the March 9th Lobbyist Gift Reform Countdown.

For the House:

Tell your Representative, "Please don't support HR.823, the gift reform bill, unless it is brought into line with the Lautenberg/Wellstone proposed reform legislation." Send them a copy of the L&W press release too.

And remember, the time to gear up is now. When the amendment is finally introduced, you may not have time to make an impact.

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Previous publications you may request from Lobbyist Gift Reform Countdown by e-mail to d.wiesner@genie.geis.com:

- Press release from Senator Lautenberg detailing the contents of the proposed Lautenberg/Wellstone gift reform legislation

- Rewrite of NY Times editorial on L/W gift reform legislation

- Press release on gift reform to the Internet by Ralph Nader's Congressional Accountability Project, made days before the L&W press release

Dave Wiesner d.wiesner@genie.geis.com

"Grassroots grow into lawns."