Lobbyist Gift Reform Countdown, May 12, 1994
Posted on: June 11, 2008Written by: UWSA Staff
Lobbyist Gift Reform Countdown, May 12, 1994
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Supporting S.1935, the Lobbyist Gift Reform Bill
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S.1935 passed 95-4 on May 11th after a package of strengthening amendments also passed. Senate conferees have been named. The only four Senators to vote against it were Wallop, Hollings, Murkowski, and Bennett. This lopsided vote is expected to make the Senate's hand very strong in conference.
SCUTTLEBUTT
Senators Lautenberg and Wellstone are nearly completely satisfied with the bill. Everyone I talked to said how important it is to get to the conferees if one of them represents you. See Action Now for the complete list.
Also, there are two other key players who aren't conferees. The first is Rep. Vic Fazio of California District 3. He led the negotiations between the House Democratic and Republican leaderships over watering down the reforms in the House phony gift ban bill. Rep. Fazio will be involved behind the scenes, and he will be one of the key opponents to true reform. The hotter that voters in his district make it for him, the weaker his position will be on resisting S.1935.
The other key is Majority Leader Richard Gephardt of Missouri. According to "the word on the street," he is in favor of reform, so if his constituents contact him in force, he is likely to also play a quiet role.
Overall, clearly the most important person in the whole House is Rep. Bryant of Texas, who is the author of the phony gift bill.
EDITORIAL
Now it is much clearer that the grass roots have a lot of power if we only use it effectively. The concept that millions of voters pushing together can push through good legislation has been changed. Only thousands is all it takes. This means that every single person who picks up the telephone or writes a letter makes a big difference.
This should be good news for those who have worried about flagging attendance at meetings. In the United States, power comes out of the barrel of a pen or the handle of a phone, so all that is needed is to get those phones ringing. The right issue will do it every time.
What is the right issue? Cleaning up Congress. Congress has no friends except the lobbyists, so they are defenseless. What are the lobbyists going to do, ask their clients' employees to call and say, "Don't ban bribery?"
Each and every letter writer and phone caller can cheer themselves thrice. Let's look back and realize how effective you have been. Senators Lautenberg and Wellstone announced that they would introduce this bill on March 8th. It passed May 11th. This made NAFTA's fast track look slow by comparison. The best part is that almost no one knew how we did it. Stealth of night, and all that.
Compliments are due Senators Lautenberg and Wellstone and their staffs. They worked long hours on this bill and played real hardball to make it happen. It became a mission to them, because of you. Senator Lautenberg took a tremendous amount of verbal abuse from members of the Senate Democratic Caucus for introducing this bill. And don't forget Senator Levin, who made the bill his own once it went to committee, giving it quite a lot of extra weight.
There are a lot of Members of Congress who want to clean up the system. They have been just as disheartened by the corruption as you and I. So expect good things now that they know the people are awake.
The House and the Senate conferees are the only game in town now. Our great challenge is to turn up the heat in their House districts and Senate states. In conference, all the good we did can be undone (and will be without your pressure), so we are counting on letters and phone calls from supporters in all these special areas. Please help carry the gift ban to a safe landing.
HOUSE
The House is the most important citizen pressure point, so if you live in the following districts or know someone who does, the rest of us are depending upon you to carry the gift ban through. The House bill is so weak that they will practically have to abandon it to get good reform. Your mission, should you decide to accept it, is to persuade the House conferees to do just that in the face of very stiff opposition from the House leadership.
Calling all voters in California District 3. Tell Rep. Vic Fazio that you want a strong ban on lobbyist gifts, including gifts of travel and recreation. Tell him you support the Senate version, S.1935.
Calling all voters in Texas-5. Rep. Bryant, the lead conferee, needs to hear from you.
Calling all voters in Kansas-4. Rep. Glickman needs to hear from you.
Calling all voters in Oklahoma-2. Rep. Synar needs to hear from you.
Calling all voters in New York-19. Rep. Fish needs to hear from you.
Calling all voters in Penn.-17. Rep. Gekas needs to hear from you.
Calling all voters in Missouri-3. Rep. Gephardt needs to hear from you.
SENATE
Senator Lautenberg and his legislative aide, who prefers anonymity, could use some cards from anyone in the country thanking them for their gutsy leadership. And if you have two more stamps, please send thanks to Senator Wellstone and his aide, as well as Senator Levin who picked up the ball and ran with it. Or if you would rather call, please do that. The complete Senate address is Washington, DC 20510. The telephone is (202) 224-3121. Ask for the Senator's office you wish to speak to.
Be sure to mention if you belong to any citizen action organizations, so they know who helped them.
This is the real secret to legislative success. When those thank you cards and calls come flooding in, they will be emboldened to take on bigger challenges. That's how reform coalitions get built.
People in the following states have an extremely important role to play, since their Senators are the Senate conferees.
Calling all voters in Ohio. Tell Sen. Glenn to hang tough on S.1935.
Calling all voters in Michigan. Sen. Levin needs to hear from you.
Calling all voters in Hawaii. Sen. Akaka needs to hear from you.
Calling all voters in Maine. Sen. Cohen needs to hear from you.
Calling all voters in Alaska. Sen. Stevens needs to hear from you.
Good luck, everybody!
