This is a classic example of why the ethics rules have to be reformed. The Scotland trip was a trip to play golf, pure and simple, and private interests should not be allowed to finance those kinds of trips and gain influence with members in return. |
This week we are in the middle of a bidding war with various reform proposals being announced by Republican and Democratic leaders in Congress. This is a case where you are going to have to read the fine print to make judgments about the effectiveness of the proposals being announced. |
To effectively address the scandals in Washington, which revolve around the multiple ways lobbyists use money to buy influence, Congress must reform the lobbying, campaign finance and ethics rules, and create new means for enforcing these rules. |
We strongly believe this is not the problem caused by one man; this is a problem caused by one system. This is about the way money is used by lobbyists and their clients on Capitol Hill at the expense of the American people. |
You don't see too many of these privately funded trips to Muncie, Ind., in the winter or the Florida Keys in the summer. |
You have parties going on all the time. You have members, when they are thrown in their honor in effect hosting their own huge expensive events, and you have corporations and special interests picking up the tab and getting the favoritism and the relationship with the members of Congress as a result. |