LET THE WHOLE COUNTRY SEE THE GOP FOR WHAT IT IS: STILL THE PARTY OF SH!T P!SS & CORRUPTION!
Partisan dispute derails ethics reform
By JIM ABRAMS, Associated Press Writer
Democrats' hopes of starting off their control of the Senate with a sweeping commitment to ethics reform received a painful jolt Wednesday, their ethics and lobbying legislation sidetracked by a dispute with Republicans.
Democrats failed to clear a crucial legislative hurdle when the Senate voted 51-46 to proceed with the bill that would have reduced the influence of lobbyists in shaping legislation and forced lawmakers to be more open about the pet projects they slip into legislation. Sixty votes were needed to advance the legislation.
With the vote, the bill was effectively driven from the Senate floor.
Republicans voted against the motion to proceed because they were upset that Democrats were blocking an amendment, sponsored by Sen. Judd Gregg (news, bio, voting record)), R-N.H., that would have given the president authority, with the approval of Congress, to single out individual spending items in legislation for elimination.
"I hope this is going to be just a bump in the road," said Democratic Whip Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill. But there was no further action on the legislation scheduled, and revival of the bill hinged on reaching some kind of compromise on the Gregg amendment.
Both parties blamed the other for the temporary demise of what they hailed, when debate on the legislation started a week ago, as a model for bipartisan cooperation.
"It's a terribly unfortunate day for this body," said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev.
Democrats, who seized a narrow majority in the Senate, as well as the House, after campaigning on the "culture of corruption" when Congress was controlled by the Republicans, had promised to start off with a major effort to break the links between lawmakers and lobbyists and reassure voters of the integrity of members of Congress.
The legislation would have barred lawmakers from accepting gifts and travel paid for by lobbyists, made it more difficult for former lawmakers to lobby their old colleagues, denied pensions to lawmakers convicted of serious crimes, required more reporting by lobbyists on their activities and required disclosure of the pet projects lawmakers insert into legislation.
Before the vote that deadlocked the bill, the Senate voted 88-9 to approve a Reid amendment that would have required senators who catch rides on corporate jets to pay charter rates. Now they reimburse jet owners with the far cheaper equivalent of a first-class ticket.
The bill was jointly sponsored by Reid and Republican leader Mitch McConnell (news, bio, voting record), R-Ky.
McConnell noted that a similar ethics bill passed the Senate last year by a 90-8 vote and said he hoped, despite the deadlock, that "we can continue to work on a path toward finishing the underlying bill."
He also pointed out that, before coming to a final vote on the bill last year, Democrats had used a similar procedural tactic to win a vote on a proposal they wanted considered.
Democrats said the Gregg proposal was not relevant to the ethics bill, and Republicans in turn said they would not vote to proceed with the bill unless Gregg's proposal came to a vote.
"The new majority party has been very vocal about its commitment to fiscal responsibility and spending restraint," Gregg said. "Yet it seems to be dragging its feet when it comes time to put those words into action."
Reid and Gregg were close to an agreement where the line-item veto proposal would come to the floor this spring, but Reid said Sen. Robert Byrd (news, bio, voting record), D-W.Va., a staunch opponent of ceding any legislative control over the purse to the president, objected.
___
The bill is S.1
On the Net:
Congress: http://thomas.loc.gov/
By JIM ABRAMS, Associated Press Writer
Democrats' hopes of starting off their control of the Senate with a sweeping commitment to ethics reform received a painful jolt Wednesday, their ethics and lobbying legislation sidetracked by a dispute with Republicans.
Democrats failed to clear a crucial legislative hurdle when the Senate voted 51-46 to proceed with the bill that would have reduced the influence of lobbyists in shaping legislation and forced lawmakers to be more open about the pet projects they slip into legislation. Sixty votes were needed to advance the legislation.
With the vote, the bill was effectively driven from the Senate floor.
Republicans voted against the motion to proceed because they were upset that Democrats were blocking an amendment, sponsored by Sen. Judd Gregg (news, bio, voting record)), R-N.H., that would have given the president authority, with the approval of Congress, to single out individual spending items in legislation for elimination.
"I hope this is going to be just a bump in the road," said Democratic Whip Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill. But there was no further action on the legislation scheduled, and revival of the bill hinged on reaching some kind of compromise on the Gregg amendment.
Both parties blamed the other for the temporary demise of what they hailed, when debate on the legislation started a week ago, as a model for bipartisan cooperation.
"It's a terribly unfortunate day for this body," said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev.
Democrats, who seized a narrow majority in the Senate, as well as the House, after campaigning on the "culture of corruption" when Congress was controlled by the Republicans, had promised to start off with a major effort to break the links between lawmakers and lobbyists and reassure voters of the integrity of members of Congress.
The legislation would have barred lawmakers from accepting gifts and travel paid for by lobbyists, made it more difficult for former lawmakers to lobby their old colleagues, denied pensions to lawmakers convicted of serious crimes, required more reporting by lobbyists on their activities and required disclosure of the pet projects lawmakers insert into legislation.
Before the vote that deadlocked the bill, the Senate voted 88-9 to approve a Reid amendment that would have required senators who catch rides on corporate jets to pay charter rates. Now they reimburse jet owners with the far cheaper equivalent of a first-class ticket.
The bill was jointly sponsored by Reid and Republican leader Mitch McConnell (news, bio, voting record), R-Ky.
McConnell noted that a similar ethics bill passed the Senate last year by a 90-8 vote and said he hoped, despite the deadlock, that "we can continue to work on a path toward finishing the underlying bill."
He also pointed out that, before coming to a final vote on the bill last year, Democrats had used a similar procedural tactic to win a vote on a proposal they wanted considered.
Democrats said the Gregg proposal was not relevant to the ethics bill, and Republicans in turn said they would not vote to proceed with the bill unless Gregg's proposal came to a vote.
"The new majority party has been very vocal about its commitment to fiscal responsibility and spending restraint," Gregg said. "Yet it seems to be dragging its feet when it comes time to put those words into action."
Reid and Gregg were close to an agreement where the line-item veto proposal would come to the floor this spring, but Reid said Sen. Robert Byrd (news, bio, voting record), D-W.Va., a staunch opponent of ceding any legislative control over the purse to the president, objected.
___
The bill is S.1
On the Net:
Congress: http://thomas.loc.gov/
posted by greenpagan at 8:29 PM
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