Hopefully this time the Senate will act. The House voted 411-8 to pass S.1, the ethics and lobbying reform bill that would increase disclosure requirements for lobbying activities and for earmarks. The next step is for the bill's passage in the Senate, which may prove a bit more difficult. Read previous reactions by OMB Watch below.

With One Seachable/Sortable Surprise Following up on Adam's blog, below is a closer look at and comment on the revolving door and earmarks provisions of the Honest Leadership and Open Government Act of 2007. Word is that the House will vote on the bill tomorrow; the Senate is expected to do so on Thursday. The bill's "revolving door" provisions are as follows:

• Senators can't lobby Congress for two years -- current law provides a one-year -- after they leave office

Today, the Democratic leadership in Congress released their long-awaited compromise lobbying and ethics bill - The Honest Leadership and Open Government Act of 2007 (text of the legislation). The bill is 107 pages long, but already there has been some criticism of changes to the bill, particularly the earmark disclosure sections (see Mark Tapscott's reaction and the Porkbusters blog for a sampling). Two Senators, Tom Coburn (R-OK) and Jim DeMint (R-SC) - whose amendment to the bill earlier this year on earmark disclosure greatly strengthen the bill - have also posted disappointing reactions. At first glance it does appear the final version of the bill is not as strong (i.e. transparent) as the original and it is unclear why those changes were adopted at this point in the debate. DeMint has announced he will offer an amendment during final consideration of the bill to "restore real earmark reform." It's yet to be seen whether that amendment will be adopted of if this version is the best the House and Senate will be able to do this year.

Merrill Goozner, a health economist/journalist, gets deep responding to an article on the unevenness of cancer treatment. A few of his thoughts on one cancer drug: