President Bush signed the Honest Leadership and Open Government Act of 2007 (HLOGA), S.1, on Sept. 14; revised House ethics rules took effect in March. The focus of these reforms has now shifted to implementation of the changes. Congressional officials have started developing the new forms and guidance that will be used by lobbyists to comply with the law. The Federal Election Commission (FEC) has proposed new regulations to implement campaign contribution bundling disclosure requirements. From lobbyists to lawyers, nonprofits, and members of Congress themselves, all parties in Washington have begun preparing for these and other adjustments to their current practices.

On Sept. 14, President Bush signed into law the Honest Leadership and Open Government Act, S. 1. The new law amends some provisions of the federal Lobbying Disclosure Act (LDA) to make the relationship between lobbyists and lawmakers more transparent by requiring increased public disclosure of funds spent by lobbyists and of the actions of members of Congress. Because of rumors that President Bush would veto the measure, it was sent to him after Labor Day to avoid a veto while Congress was in recess.

After a year-long debate and negotiations over enacting lobbying and ethics reforms, Congress finally passed the Honest Leadership and Open Government Act of 2007 (S. 1). While not an ideal set of reforms, the new law is the most significant lobbying and ethics reform in a decade and should make important strides in increasing accountability and transparency in Washington.

No one is certain when Congress will leave for its summer recess. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) has said the Senate will recess only when it has passed several high profile bills, including lobby reform. Progress on this legislation has stalled because Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC) has used parliamentary procedure to stop Reid from appointing the Senate conferees. One solution to the problem may be that the House and Senate pass identical bills to avoid a conference. However, reform groups have raised concerns about this process, since it may result in weakened legislation.