Restoring Faith In Congress

The very first bill that the Senate debated at the start of this new Congress is legislation to reform lobbying and ethics rules and practices.  It is appropriate that the first bill brought before our chamber this year is one that would increase disclosure and ban practices that can create the appearance of wrongdoing or undermine the public’s confidence in decisions made by Congress.  We need to assure the American people that the decisions we make are decisions of integrity, in which their interests are put first.   Taking effective action to restore public confidence is a crucial task.  Our laws must reflect fair and open debate, and above-board negotiations.  Otherwise, Congress merely adds to the corrosive forces of public cynicism and distrust.   The November elections confirmed what opinion polls had already made clear.  Citizens, in general, do not trust Congress.  Bribery scandals and other outrages by certain lobbyists and members of Congress aggravated voter concern and made ethics a key issue in 2006.   Most members of Congress and their staff are honest people, working hard to serve our nation.  But serving in positions of authority multiplies the opportunities for temptation to abuse power or seek personal gain.  Human nature needs a stout bulwark of ethical standards.   Some of us pushed ethics onto the agenda in the last Congress.  Senator Joe Lieberman and I authored a lobbying reform bill that was approved overwhelmingly by our Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, and was included in legislation that the Senate approved 90 to 8.  While that bill did not become law, it is very similar to the legislation that the Senate just passed.   Both bills included many strong provisions that would go a long way in helping to restore the American public’s faith and confidence in Congress. The provisions included increased disclosure on lobbying, a ban on gifts from lobbyists, restrictions on privately funded travel for members of Congress, and reform of the process of “earmarking” federal funds.   The legislation brings more sunlight to the earmarks process so that Americans can be assured that their tax dollars are not being allocated in secret without opportunity for scrutiny.  It restricts the ability of members and staff to leave Congress, then immediately approach Capitol Hill again as private lobbyists able to exploit their inside knowledge and relationships.  And it requires more disclosure of the activities of groups lobbying Congress.   But these bills lacked a provision to create an independent Office of Public Integrity that would be charged with conducting non-partisan investigations of possible ethics violations – a provision that I believe is essential to meaningful ethics and lobbying reform.    Our current, in-house process for enforcing congressional ethics requirements is an inherently conflicted process by which Congress enforces its own ethics requirements through the House and Senate Ethics Committees.  We serve as our own advisors, investigators, prosecutors, judges, and juries.  This invites public skepticism even when the process works.   Senators Lieberman, John McCain, Barack Obama, and I proposed an independent ethics agency during the debate.  Our proposal was defeated, but the idea was worth fighting for.    To be sure, lobbyists are part of our democratic system.  Like other citizens, they have the right to offer information and arguments on matters before Congress, and most do so in an ethical way.  Whether representing labor, business, non-profit, or public-interest clients, they are often experts in their issue areas.  Their expertise gives them the ability to point out defects or unintended consequences in proposed legislation and offer suggestions that can provide public officials with useful information that aids, but does not dictate, the decision-making process.  That contributes to better lawmaking.  But when lobbying contacts involve gifts like tickets to sporting events, free travel, and other favors, the results can range from the appearance of impropriety to the reality of improper special treatment.  Tighter rules and better disclosure will deter lobbyists from offering inducements – and members of Congress from accepting them.   We can not make any human institution perfect.  But we can make its rules stricter, open its conduct to the sunlight of public inspection, and provide a more reliable means of investigating those who betray the public trust.  Doing so is our duty to the people who entrust us with the power to make laws on their behalf.   Congress faces a great many challenges that we cannot address unless the public has faith in us.  Lobbying reform is essential to restoring that faith.  It is the foundation for progress on other issues, not an afterthought.             ###