House Republican leaders are weighing options to bring lobby reform to the floor after five committees reported out provisions that both Democrats and watchdog groups are calling toothless and ineffective.

Five separate committees in the House marked up their respective portions of the House GOP Leadership's lobby and ethics reform bill, H.R. 4975, on April 4 and 5. Those reporting committees were Judiciary, Rules, Government Reform, Administration, and Standards of Official Conduct, commonly known as Ethics.

The Republican bill that has emerged has largely been dismissed by both Democrats and watchdog groups as inadequate. Much of the conversation during the markups reflected the Democrats' frustration with the inadequacy of the bill and the Republicans' reluctance to allow amendments enhancing disclosure or enforcement capabilities.

What's Next?

With all pertinent committees having finished their portions of the legislation, it is now up to Republican leaders to decide how to bring the bill to the floor. Reportedly, they are debating whether to present the bill piecemeal under a House rule that would not allow for amendments or as a large bill open to alteration. Leaving the bill open to amendments would mean difficult votes for Republicans, who do not want to be seen voting against meaningful amendments on the House floor. The GOP leadership is even considering putting parts of the bill on the suspension calendar, typically limited to non-controversial measures. Bills on suspension cannot be amended on the floor and need a two-thirds majority to pass. The bills would then be protected from amendment, but face the possibility of not garnering the two-thirds vote needed for passage.

At the same time, the GOP leadership fears that Democrats will capitalize on any effort to limit debate on the bill, saying Republicans do not want genuine change. This could be damaging in an election year. But reformers on both sides of the aisle are reportedly crafting numerous amendments to strengthen the bill. If given the opportunity, Reps. Christopher Shays (R-CT) and Heather Wilson (D-PA) will offer an amendment to create an Office of Public Integrity, reportedly similar to the language that was defeated in the Senate.

Watchdog groups have also been putting pressure on the Republican leadership to allow amendments to the bill. In an April 13 letter to House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert (R-IL) and House Rules Committee Chairman David Dreier (R-CA), six reform groups criticized the lobbying reform bill, saying they would lobby to defeat any rule to bring the bill to the House floor unless the rule allows votes on key amendments to strengthen the legislation. The improvements they seek include:

• restrictions on privately financed travel;
• charter rates for travel on corporate aircraft;
• disclosure of lobbyists' campaign donations;
• disclosure of large sums spent by professional lobbying firms on "grass roots lobbying" campaigns to stimulate public interest in legislation; and
• the strengthening of "revolving-door" rules.

Summary of Committee Action

House Judiciary Committee

The April 4 Judiciary committee markup led to few changes to the Lobbying Disclosure Act. Items approved included electronic filing of quarterly reports by registered lobbyists, instead of the current semiannual reports. The reports would be available to the public online in a free "searchable, sortable, and downloadable" database. Filing would be electronic in order to keep the database up to date. (The House recently required electronic filing but has found implementing the requirement difficult.) The threshold for filing under the Lobbying Disclosure Act (LDA) would be $2,500 spent per quarter by a lobbying firm for a client or $10,000 spent per quarter by an organization on lobbying activities. The committee approved a manager's amendment offered by Judiciary Committee Chairman James Sensenbrenner (R-WI), which included criminal penalties--up to five years imprisonment--for lobbyists and members of Congress who fail to disclose gifts and meals.

The committee also approved amendments by Reps. Maxine Waters (D-CA) and Chris Van Hollen (D-MD). Waters' amendment, adopted by voice vote, would require lobbyists to disclose names of staff members, in addition to members of Congress, with whom they have made official contact in their lobbying activities. The Van Hollen amendment, adopted 28-4, would require registered lobbyists to disclose information on any contributions they solicited and transferred to a candidate or political committee. It would exempt contributions made by lobbyists or authorized committees of a lobbyist running for a federal office. It would also require a registered lobbyist, who serves as treasurer of a federal candidate's election committee or as treasurer or chairman of a political committee, to identify his or her position and the candidate he or she works for in a report to the secretary of the Senate and the clerk of the House.

An amendment offered by Rep. Marty Meehan (D-MA) to include disclosure of grassroots lobbying expenditures was ruled non-germane and was not considered. Meehan's amendment was identical to the provision authored by Sens. Joe Lieberman (D-CT) and Carl Levin (D-MI) now included in the Senate's lobby reform bill. Meehan's office is reportedly considering offering it as a floor amendment, should rules allow it.

Some committee Democrats, originally voting for passage, switched their vote when Sensenbrenner informed them that they were voting on reporting out the entire bill--not just the provisions the Judiciary Committee has jurisdiction over. Although Judiciary Committee Democrats agreed with the changes to the specific provisions, they opposed approving the rest of the bill when they felt it was weak in other places.

House Rules Committee

By voice vote, the Rules Committee adopted provisions to change House rules regarding gifts and travel, as well as those governing the "revolving door" between Capitol Hill and K Street, and between federal agencies and industry.

Democrats failed to gain any Republican support for amendments that would have given the minority party more power to influence conference reports and raise points of order against majority party-authored legislation.

House Government Reform

On April 5, the Government Reform Committee took up its portion of the lobby reform bill. As introduced, a provision would prohibit a member of Congress convicted of a public corruption crime and sentenced to more than a year in prison from collecting retirement benefits accrued while a member of Congress. The committee adopted an amendment by Committee Chairman Tom Davis (R-VA) to extend that provision to congressional employees and political appointees in the executive branch. Since a similar provision was approved by the House Administration Committee, it will be up to the Rules Committee to sort out differences between the two provisions before the bill goes to the floor.

The committee also approved, 32-0, a companion bill sponsored by Davis and Ranking Member Henry Waxman (D-CA) that would tighten the rules governing executive branch lobbying. The bill contains provisions that protect whistleblowers and clamps down on the growth of "sensitive but unclassified" information withheld from the public. Reportedly, both Davis and Waxman are pushing to have the bill folded into the lobbying bill on the House floor.

House Administration Committee

In the House Administration markup, the committee rejected on a 2-5 vote an amendment offered by Rep. Juanita Millender-McDonald (D-CA) that would have made it illegal for any member of Congress, delegate, resident commissioner, officer or employee of the House to knowingly accept gifts from lobbyists or agents of foreign governments. It would have also restricted those officials and staffers from accepting travel reimbursement from nongovernmental organizations that retain or employ any registered lobbyist, or agents of foreign governments.

Another Millender-McDonald amendment that would have established an Office of Public Integrity (OPI) within the House of Representatives Inspector General's office to conduct audits and investigations of all filings made by lobbyists was rejected 2-5. The office would have the authority to refer violations of the 1995 Lobbying Disclosure Act to the ethics committee and the Justice Department.

House Committee on Standards of Official Conduct

The committee, commonly known as the ethics committee, was the fifth and final committee to approve the lobby reform bill. Meeting in closed session, the committee reported out the bill with no changes.