This is huge. HUGE!! Will post more later on this and the 100 hours legislation.
From WaPo:
Senate Democrats and Republicans broke a difficult stalemate last night and approved 96 to 2 expansive legislation to curtail the influence of lobbyists, tighten congressional ethics rules and prevent the spouses of senators from lobbying senators and their staffs.
The Senate legislation, hailed by proponents as the most significant ethics reform since Watergate, would ban gifts, meals and travel funded by lobbyists, and would force lawmakers to attach their names to special-interest provisions and pet projects that they slip into bills. Lawmakers would have to pay charter rates on corporate jets, not the far-cheaper first-class rates they pay now.
The House earlier this month approved similar language as part of an internal rules change. But other portions of the Senate-passed measure would carry the weight of law and would have impacts far beyond the Capitol. The House would have to pass comparable legislation for those provisions to take effect.
“Senate passes Ethics reform”
Hogwash!
Ethical behavior stems from a strong moral sense.
Very few people in Congress seem to be so equipped. If Congress wants to do something about it’s ethical image, here is a simple rule: Refrain from all appearance of evil.
Jeery Clower tells of asking his mother if something was appropriate. Her reply was simple “If you have to ask, it isn’t.” Comgress should take note.
🙂 We have laws that help us, the common folk play by the rules. Congress should have rules also.
Will rules make everyone be good men and women. NO. But you have to start with rules because everyone isn’t moral. As a matter of fact, many in power seem to be corrupted by power and money. I think if we look back through human history we find that this is common. What’s that old saying, “Absolute power corrupts, absolutely.”
Dude, we are human. We can all be tempted.
Good Ole Hatch voted against it. Yes, Utah’s senator who will never get run out of office. He is trying to defend his vote in Utah. It is even upsetting the republicans who always re-elect him. He needs to go and has been in office way to long. But he just won again with a landslide.