Abramoff Conviction Gives New Impetus to Moves in Congress to Toughen Curbs on Lobbying - New York Times

By CARL HULSE
WASHINGTON, Jan. 5 - The criminal conviction of the high-powered lobbyist Jack Abramoff is giving new impetus to Congressional initiatives to toughen restrictions on lobbying as Republicans and Democrats vie to establish their credentials on a potentially potent election-year issue.

Both parties are preparing to roll out lobbying reform proposals in the aftermath of Mr. Abramoff's guilty plea to public corruption charges. They are considering a variety of ideas certain to draw resistance from the lobbying community and other lawmakers.

"These are tough changes, and some of them will be quite controversial among our colleagues here," Senator Joseph I. Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, said Thursday as he endorsed a plan developed by Senator John McCain, Republican of Arizona, after his hearings into Mr. Abramoff's bilking of Indian tribes through a lobbying operation.

The plan by Mr. McCain, a chief author of changes in campaign finance law, is one of a handful that have been percolating behind the scenes for weeks.

Now that the Abramoff inquiry has exploded, those plans are unlikely to be quietly shelved. Lawmakers are eager to show that Congress is willing to crack down on practices that have become business as usual in a city increasingly driven by campaign contributions and cozy relationships.

"I will be working with colleagues this session to examine and act on any necessary changes to improve transparency and accountability for our body when it comes to lobbying," said Senator Bill Frist of Tennessee, the majority leader, who late last year assigned a colleague to begin exploring new regulations on lobbying.

Democrats say Mr. Frist and other Republican leaders are latecomers to the call for changes, noting that Democrats in the House and Senate introduced proposals in the spring and summer only to be treated dismissively by Republicans. And they say they are skeptical that proposals from the Republican leadership will be sufficiently tough.

"Congressional Democrats have been pushing to clean up Congress since long before the indictments started coming down on the culture of corruption," John Lapp, executive director of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, said Thursday. "We continue to wait for Republicans to join us."

House Democrats announced Thursday that 120 Democratic lawmakers now back a proposed overhaul of House rules that would prohibit any lobbyist involvement in paying for travel of members of Congress. That change follows disclosures that Mr. Abramoff funneled money through organizations to underwrite lavish trips for Republican lawmakers like Representatives Tom DeLay of Texas and Bob Ney of Ohio. Those men say they were unaware of Mr. Abramoff's ruse.

House and Senate Democratic leaders plan to unveil extensive lobbying changes later this month. Like other proposals, they would extend the prohibition on lobbying of Congress by former lawmakers and staff members to two years from one, eliminate floor privileges for former members who are registered lobbyists and put new limits on gifts and Congressional travel. Penalties for violations would be significantly increased.

The McCain measure that Mr. Lieberman is backing would take similar steps, including requiring lawmakers to disclose employment negotiations that could pose a conflict - an area of controversy in recent years as lawmakers and senior aides left Capitol Hill to work for industries formerly under their legislative jurisdiction.

The proposal would institute extensive requirements for financial disclosures by lobbyists. It would also require lawmakers to pay the true costs of flying on private jets owned by outside interests rather than reimbursing the jets' owners at first-class travel rates as is now the practice.

Mr. Lieberman said he believed that new public disclosure of lobbyist activities could curtail some abuse though he acknowledged, as some outside watchdog groups have asserted, that lack of enforcement of current rules by the Congressional ethics committees is an issue.

"I think it's a reasonable question to ask about the work of the ethics committees," he said.

Senior Republican aides in the House and Senate said their proposals were still being assembled and negotiated among lawmakers, but they promised that the measures would have teeth.

"The leader expects a serious and credible lobby reform proposal for the Senate," said Eric Ueland, chief of staff to Mr. Frist, "and the ideas proposed to date fit that bill to bring more transparency and accountability to the lobbying world."

Members of both parties say it is likely some legislation will be enacted, particularly with elections coming up in November and with public regard for Congress at a low in public opinion polls.

"The Congress needs to respond," said Representative Zach Wamp, Republican of Tennessee.