We have long anticipated the follow-up to the GOP's earmarks-disclosure rule, which expires at the end of the year. Now, the House Democrats have finally settled on a strategy for rolling out their ethics and budget process reform package in January. The pieces of the package, including

• Re-instatememt of pay-as-you-go (PAYGO) budget-making rules
• Bans on lobbist-paid gifts, meals and travel
• Reporting requirements on all contacts with lobbyists
• Earmark disclosure (broadened to include more tax expenditures)
• [perhaps an independent board to conduct ethics investigations]

will be sponsored by freshman members who campaigned for a specific reform proposal. According to today's Washington Post "freshmen would offer, over as many as five days in January, separate amendments to ban gifts, meals and travel financed by lobbyists ... rules mandating the disclosure of all contacts with lobbyists would be another vote," etc. Interestingly, each piece will be debated under open rules, permitting amendment, a significant departure from general GOP floor practice.