Emanuel, Meehan Call on Hastert, Boehner for Immediate Reform of House Ethics Rules

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Today, U.S. Representatives Rahm Emanuel and Representative Marty Meehan, released the following letter to Speaker J. Dennis Hastert and Majority Leader John A. Boehner calling on them to direct the Rules Committee to advance reform measures omitted from Lobbying Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006. 

Following is text of the letter:

                                                           April 28, 2006

The Honorable J. Dennis Hastert                                            The Honorable John A. Boehner
Speaker                                                                                 Majority Leader
U.S. House of Representatives                                               U.S. House of Representatives
H-232 U.S. Capitol                                                                H-107 U.S. Capitol
Washington, DC 20515                                                         Washington, DC 20515

Dear Speaker Hastert and Majority Leader Boehner:

As the House continues its consideration of the Lobbying Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006, we are writing to strongly recommend that you direct the Rules Committee to advance several critical bipartisan reform measures that were omitted from this legislation.  These provisions can be implemented through the House rules process on an expedited basis, meaning we need not wait for legislation to pass both houses, and Conference.

Specifically, the rules of the House should be amended to include the following provisions, which have the support of the reform community and non-partisan scholars such as Norman Ornstein and Thomas Mann:

• Requiring an organization sponsoring member or staff travel, prior to the trip, to submit written certification to the Clerk of the House verifying that: the trip was not planned, organized, arranged, or financed by a registered lobbyist, or organized at the request of a registered lobbyist; and that the organization did not accept funds specifically earmarked for the purpose of the trip from any source;
• Instituting a ban on gifts, including a provision prohibiting lobbyists from paying for parties for members at National Party Conventions;
  Requiring Members of the House to pay the full charter costs of any flight aboard a corporate jet; 
• Establishing an Office of Public Integrity (OPI) to assist the House Ethics Committee;
  Mandating public disclosure of Members who sponsor earmarks and whether Members have a financial interest in the earmark; prohibiting any Member from offering or withholding an earmark to influence how another Member votes; and requiring that bills or resolutions containing earmarks cannot be voted on until three days after copies have been made available to the full House;
• Requiring that the relevant House committees hold hearings and invite General Accountability Office officials to testify on how the Clerk of the House and relevant committees are performing in enforcing lobbying rules.
   

Sadly, to many Americans, Congress appears to serve the special interests, and not their interests,  By immediately adopting these common-sense, bipartisan measures, we can change the culture of the House and begin to restore the public’s trust in this institution.

Thank you for your attention to this matter, and we look forward to receiving your response.

                                                         Sincerely, 

Rahm Emanuel                                                               Martin T. Meehan
Member of Congress                                                     Member of Congress