As our blog has been saying, it is time for ethics reform in Washington.However, GOP House leader John Boehner has already said he is against ethics reofrm.
Nevertheless, if Congress is to restore the public's trust in government, it must act.
One step in that process is addressing the issue of getting gifts:
Near the end of a long day recently, Lt. Col. Guillermo Heredia sat in U.S. Sen. Saxby Chambliss’ office waiting to present a cell phone stand as a gift to one of the Republican senator’s staffers.
The gift was the last one in a bag that started out full when Lt. Col. Heredia navigated congressional corridors and visited every member of the Georgia delegation.
"It is an appreciation," said Lt. Col. Heredia, the vice commander of the Georgia wing of the Civil Air Patrol. "A small token for all that they have done for us already."
Congressional lawmakers from Tennessee and Georgia say most of the gifts they receive each year are small items like the cell phone stand. They include food, candy, books, hats and T-shirts that come from constituents and not from lobbyists.
Many lawmakers say gifts often relate in some way to their state.
"We typically accept those on behalf of the office, but not for me," said U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn.
In Sen. Chambliss’ office a square of carpet from Dalton, Ga., is displayed along with items such as a Georgia Military College football helmet and a stuffed rattlesnake from a Georgia museum.
Congressional watchdog groups say the public has no choice but to trust their lawmakers when it comes to gifts because there is no tracking system. The rules say a lawmaker or staffer cannot accept a single gift worth $50 or more and cannot accept gifts totaling $100 or more from any individual in a single year, according to Larry Noble, the director of the Center for Responsive Politics.
But, unlike with privately funded travel, lawmakers are not required to turn in paperwork on gifts, he said.
"It is pretty much a policeyourself system," he said. "And, at least anecdotally, it doesn’t seem to have worked very well."
In the aftermath of recent corruption scandals such as the guilty plea this year of former lobbyist Jack Abramoff, many congressional observers are calling for an outright ban on gifts.
"Gifts lead to an abuse of power," said Naomi Steiner, the deputy director of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington. "It affords illegal opportunities for those who would otherwise not have them."
Mrs. Steiner said the actions of former Rep. Randall "Duke" Cunningham, R-Calif., highlight the need for a gift ban. Rep. Cunningham for a decade kept what prosecutors called a "bribe menu." Defense contractors lavished him with boats, homes, rugs and antiques, and he has admitted receiving at least $2.4 million in bribes since 2000. He recently was sentenced to eight years and four months in prison.
The Senate Rules Committee, which includes Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., and Sen. Chambliss, unanimously approved a measure prohibiting lawmakers from accepting gifts other than meals from lobbyists. It also would require that meals accepted by senators and their staffers be reported online within 15 days.
Sen. Frist plans to bring the lobbying reform measure to the full Senate this week, according to spokesman Matt Lehigh. The House has yet to take up a reform measure.
"Senator Frist strongly supports increasing transparency and accountability in Washington," Mr. Lehigh said. "He has made lobbying and ethics reform a priority this year."
But Mrs. Steiner said the proposed rule changes do not go far enough.
"There is no reason why a member of Congress or a staff member cannot have a meeting in their office," she said. "You don’t have to be taken to dinner."
However, lawmakers say sharing meals is a common way of doing business. While most area congressional delegates favor curtailing gifts, they differ on what defines a gift.
Sen. Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., said he favors doing away with gifts but added that food should not be considered a gift.
"I don’t see how you are a criminal just because you’ve grabbed a sandwich with someone," Sen. Isakson said. "A lot of the job you do is on the run, and you often just say, ‘Let’s grab lunch.’"
But Rep. Harold Ford, DTenn., said most meals are more lavish, such as a steak dinner.
"Anyone that tells you that gifts are essential to making this place work ought to go home," Rep. Ford said.
Rep. Zach Wamp, R-Tenn., said he favors greater disclosure and cutting out registered lobbyists from the gift-giving process. But he said the number of visitors who walk in and out of a lawmaker’s office each day would make eliminating gifts difficult to police.
"An outright gift ban creates a problem in enforcement," he said. "You create more problems than you solve."
Sen. Alexander said any rule changes should discourage abuses but not lead to unintended violations of the law by groups that often bring what he called "incidental gifts" such as books, photos or pens to an office visit. But he said he would rather ban all gifts than add a new layer of paperwork and record-keeping for Senate offices.
Most congressional staffers described similar procedures for dealing with gifts. When a lawmaker receives a gift, the staff determines whether the gift can be accepted under the gift rule. If the gift is not allowed under the gift rule, it is returned. If the gift is acceptable under the
gift rule, a staffer usually writes a thank you note for the gift, officials said.
Lawmakers said gifts are rarely logged in but regular staff training on the rules occurs.
"Our policy is unless it is a pen with a logo on it, you just don’t take it," Rep. Wamp said.
Rep. Lincoln Davis, D-Tenn., said Washington lobbyists never come to his office bearing gifts. He said two to three times a year Tennessee-based groups come to Washington and ask to sit down with him over a meal. Rep. Davis said voters should be less concerned with gifts than with privately funded trips.
"I think the real damage being done are these trips that lawmakers go on with their wives or husbands to a tropical vacation spot that lobbyists call policy trips," Rep. Davis said. "That has to stop. Anyone who can be bought for a $50 meal won’t last long in Congress."
John Boehner should follow Congressman Ford's lead in cleaning up Washington!
Read about Congressman Ford's actions on ethics reform here! (1 , 2, 3)
Read about John Boehner's views opposing ethics reform here!
Read about John Boehner's broken promises regarding ethics reform here!
