Ban Bribery Now! November 12, 1995
Posted on: June 11, 2008Written by: UWSA Staff
PLEASE POST TO ALL YOUR FAVORITE NEWSGROUPS, FIDONET, COMPUSERVE, ETC.
BAN BRIBERY NOW! November 12, 1995
======================================================
Supporting a Lobbyist Gift Ban
the House of Representatives
======================================================
SCUTTLEBUTT
---------------------------------------------------------------------
There will be a private meeting of the entire House Republican Conference this week at which they will decide whether to bring a weak gift ban offered by Dan Burton out of the Rules Committee instead of Enid Waldholtz's bill or to allow Rep. Burton's weakening amendments to come to a vote on the House floor.
The general form of Rep. Burton's bill will be to allow members to continue to accept free travel and lodging to charity events as long as the charity is an IRS-chartered nonprofit and contributes over half the proceeds to charity. Since every major corporation in the United States has set up some sort of nonprofit foundation, this amendment would be acceptable to most lobbying organizations.
Many Republicans are complaining that the gift ban issue has eaten up valuable time that could be used to move on Medicare reform, the budget resolution, and many other issues.
It is possible that the unresolved disputes over the gift ban may delay its consideration and a vote on the lobbying disclosure act, currently scheduled for this Thursday, November 16th. However, Chris Shays and many of the Freshman Republicans are sticking to their guns. 75 Democrats have signed the discharge petition that will bring the original language to the floor. If the Republican leadership allows the gift ban to become damaged goods, we can expect enough Democrats and Republicans to sign to force the original language to a floor vote.
Odds are that, if any softness in voter support for strong gift reform is sensed, some Democrats will join in the effort to weaken the bill. Bill Brewster, D-Okla., already has, saying that he opposes the Senate-passed gift resolution.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
EDITORIAL
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Nothing is surprising anymore. Only in Washington could they turn a dispute over lobbyist freebies into a national emergency. Shall we give them a Congressional Medal of Honor when they finally get it done?
Congress can pass laws that put whole industries out of business or throw entire cities into depression, but when it comes to restricting their own perks, they fight like cats and dogs over every jot and tittle.
Under the most restrictive proposal on the table, members of Congress will still be able to accept gifts that would get a government procurement officer fired. They are expressing rage over this restriction of their right to party at lobbyist expense, but it is only a small fraction of the rage that we feel toward Congress as it dreams up laws that punish ordinary citizens every day.
Members are complaining that they have more important things to do and that this is wasting valuable time. So why don't they pass it already? They could pass a flag burning amendment during a busy legislative session, and certainly they had better things to do than that.
Evidence is mounting that your calls and letters are being noticed. During a debate on the continuing resolution to fund the government, Rep. Gibbons said, "Your constituents are asking you to define bribery for them..." He wouldn't have made this statement if it didn't make sense to other members. Clearly they have been receiving calls and letters from voters about the legalized bribes that Congress is taking. Good work!
The whole reason that Congress is going forward with the gift ban is that the leaders know we are tired of waiting and that we demand immediate action. Don't let up. BAN BRIBERY NOW!
If you believe that members of Congress should live like the rest of us and not be allowed to accept gifts from people who want special treatment, then say so. Urge your representative to stop wasting time arguing about the details and to support Enid Waldholtz's gift ban, H.Res.214 without amendments. Strengthen the hand of this true reformer by calling now. Without you she is nothing. With you, she can conquer even the most senior of the old bulls.
Democrats are supporting this bill, but many of them would rather see it go away. Please keep the pressure on them.
Tell your friends. Tell your relatives to call. Don't let this opportunity slip away.
If your Representative is on the Rules Committee, you can play a special role. The Rules Committee needs to meet as soon as possible and mark up the bill with no changes.
House Rules Committee
Gerald Solomon (R-N.Y.) -- chairman
Republicans: Democrats:
James H. Quillen (Tenn.) Joe Moakley (Mass.) David Dreier (Calif.) -- ranking member Porter J. Goss (Fla.) Anthony C. Beilenson (Calif.) John Linder (Ga.) Martin Frost (Texas) Deborah Pryce (Ohio) Tony P. Hall (Ohio) Lincoln Diaz-Balart (Fla.) Scott McInnis (Colo.) Enid Greene Waldholtz (Utah)
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES Washington, DC 20515 (800) 972-3524 (202) 224-3121
Another thing to do is to write the editorial board of your newspaper requesting that it write an editorial about the delay in the gift ban vote. One such scathing editorial in a local paper can change a Representative's vote.
