Tuesday, March 28, 2006

Op-Ed: False Promises On Ethics

Goodness, it appears people are growing tired of the Republicans failures on ethics pretty quickly.

It seems everyday just about there is a report or op-ed blasting the Republicans for their failures on ethics.

The following op-ed comes from the Orlando Sentinel and says what our blog has said for a good while now--the Republicans are not interested in ethics reform:

After former lobbyist Jack Abramoff pleaded guilty to bribery and other crimes in January, leaders in Congress resolved to curb the corrupting power of influence peddlers on Capitol Hill. That resolve seems to be evaporating like an ice cube in July.

Last week, House Republican leaders introduced a weak proposal that would suspend privately paid trips for members of Congress, but only through this year's elections. Decisions on whether to ban permanently travel, meals or other gifts for members would be put off until after Election Day.

Other common-sense reforms are missing entirely from the proposal. Ex-members of Congress who become lobbyists would not be barred from plying their trade on the House floor. The practice of sneaking pork-barrel projects into spending bills, often at the behest of lobbyists, wouldn't be stopped.

House leaders are hoping Americans' interest in reform has waned in the weeks since Mr. Abramoff's guilty pleas. But Arizona Sen. John McCain has warned that more lobbying scandals and indictments are inevitable.

If Congress is truly serious about reform, it could follow the lead of the Florida Legislature. The Legislature passed a ban last year barring lobbyists or organizations that employ them from paying for gifts, meals or trips for lawmakers or their staffs.

Such a measure on the federal level, along with limits on pork-barrel spending and lobbying by ex-members of Congress, would go a long way toward cleaning up Capitol Hill and restoring Americans' confidence in their leaders.


John Boehner has already made it clear he was against ethics reform. However, the people deserve reform.

Congress should follow Congressman Ford's lead on ethics reform and 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!