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Members they are trying to influence;
*Provide no reforms to curb the revolving door of Members leaving Congress and lobbying to influence congressional decisions; and
*Provide no reforms to require professional lobbying firms to disclose the huge amounts they are secretly spending to stimulate grassroots lobbying efforts, including multimillion dollar advertising campaigns to influence Congress.
Even in those few areas where House Republican leaders are proposing reforms to address serious problems, the approaches being proposed are highly suspect and unacceptable.
For example, House Republican leaders are proposing to temporarily suspend privately-financed trips for Members through the end of 2006, and to have the discredited House Ethics Committee recommend travel rules for future years by December 15, 2006.
In proposing this temporary ban, the distinct danger exists that as soon as the November 2006 election is held, and the public heat is off, privately-financed trips will again be allowed to take place. This could be combined with a requirement for ''pre-approval'' of such trips by the House Ethics Committee, which has been suggested by opponents of a ban on privately-funded trips as an alternative way to deal with the issue.
The pre-approval approach, however, will not put an end to the privately-financed travel abuses by Members that have occurred, even if there is a credible House Ethics Committee to pre-approve the trips, which there clearly isn't.
Under the approach proposed by House Republican leaders, furthermore, the temporary travel ban could be eliminated after the November elections without House Members ever getting to vote directly on ending the ban or adopting new travel rules. This could happen if changes to the travel rules are simply incorporated into the full package of House rules which will be submitted to the House for a single up-or down vote by Members at the outset of the new Congress in January.
''The current proposal for dealing with privately-financed travel has too much of a 'now you see it, now you don't' potential to it, and therefore is an unacceptable way to deal with the widespread House travel abuses, symbolized by Jack Abramoff's lavishly-funded trips for Members,'' according to Wertheimer.
House Republican leaders also are proposing to address the issue of 527 groups spending money on federal elections without complying with federal campaign finance laws. But they are doing so under a process of incorporating the 527 proposal into the lobbying reform legislation, which could deny Members from having any opportunity to consider alternatives or have a direct up-or-down vote on the 527 legislation.
''Democracy 21 supports 527 reform legislation, but this process, if pursued by House Republican leaders, would be an unfair, undemocratic and unacceptable way to consider legislation to deal with 527 groups,'' Wertheimer stated.
''House Republican leaders have responded to the corruption and lobbying scandals in Congress with legislation designed to mask their unwillingness to change the way lobbyists function in Congress, to give up various financial perks they receive from lobbyists and to establish a credible system to enforce the congressional ethics rules,'' Wertheimer said.
''House Republican leaders also are about to undertake the most brazen effort to eviscerate the nation's campaign finance laws since the Watergate reforms were enacted in 1974,'' according to Wertheimer.
''The spotlight of national attention must be focused on the House during the next few weeks to ensure that citizens are aware and fully informed about the unfolding House battle over the integrity and fairness of our democracy,'' Wertheimer stated.
According to the schedule announced for next week by Majority Leader Boehner, H.R.1606 is scheduled for consideration on the House floor on March 29. According to a March 16 article in The Hill, Majority Leader John Boehner's House floor schedule for the week of April 3 includes H.R. 1316 and H.R. 4975.
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