Reform Rumblings

Given that the soon to be Democratic majority will have 10 unapproved spending bills, incoming House Majority Leader Hoyer was questioned on how Democrats will handle the 100-hour legislative agenda. The National Journal (subscription required) reported that Hoyer commentated that the 100 hours of legislating will take place before the continuing resolution expires. "One change in the Democrats' agenda is that the rules changes and ethics reforms promised by Democratic leaders will not be part of the 100-hour slate . . . Hoyer reiterated that the still-evolving rules package will provide notable changes to the way the House has worked under GOP control, including that the minority will be involved in the conference process on legislation." Meanwhile; "Congress is widely expected to consider proposals to beef up the federal Lobbying Disclosure Act in 2007, but administrative officials on Capitol Hill will be moving ahead on their own with improvements in the LDA filing process in time for the next filing deadline in mid-February, Pam Gavin, the Senate Superintendent of Documents, said Dec. 4." BNA Money and Politics (subscription required) reports on the current problems with electronic filing under the Lobby Disclosure Act (LDA), along with the increased number of lobbyists, and some possible reforms to the lobby disclosure process including the creation of a new Office of Professional Integrity (OPI).
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