This congressional hearing from 1996 examines proposals for ethics reform in government and lobbying. It features expert testimony from scholars, activists, and elected officials, and provides a fascinating insight into the political and ethical debates of the time. This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the "public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

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Excerpt from Ethics in Government and Lobbying Reform Proposals: Hearing Before the Subcommittee on the Constitution of the Committee on the Judiciary, House of Representatives, One Hundred Fourth Congress, Second Session, March 22, 1996 The subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, in room 2237, Rayburn House Office Building, Hon. Charles T. Canady (chairman of the subcommittee) presiding. Present: Representatives Charles T. Canady, Henry J. Hyde, Bob Inglis, Michael Patrick Flanagan, F. James Sensenbrenner, Jr., Bob Goodlatte, Barney Frank, and Melvin L. Watt. Also present: Kathryn A. Hazeem, chief counsel; John H. Ladd, assistant counsel; Mark Carroll, staff assistant; and Robert Raben, minority counsel. Opening Statement of Chairman Canady Mr. Canady. The subcommittee will come to order. Last December the Congress ended more than 40 years of gridlock by passing the Lobbying Disclosure Act. Efforts to pass the Lobbying Disclosure Act in the House of Representatives began in this subcommittee in what was truly a bipartisan effort, and I want to again thank Mr. Frank, who is the ranking minority member of this subcommittee, as well as Mr. Bryant of Texas for the leadership role that they played in helping move forward the Lobbying Disclosure Act. A week ago today, the Clerk of the House of Representatives and the Secretary of the Senate released information showing that the number of registered lobbyists has doubled since the Lobbying Disclosure Act became effective on January 1 of this year. I believe this shows that the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 is having its intended effect. I would add, however, that to provide additional clarity to some of the acts provisions, subcommittee staff is working on a technical corrections bill in a bipartisan fashion that will address a number of interpretative issues arising under the Lobbying Disclosure Act. Today the subcommittee holds an oversight hearing on ethics in government and lobbying reform proposals. In our first panel today we will hear from a number of our distinguished House colleagues on issues that either were debated or might have been debated in connection with the House's consideration of the Lobbying Disclosure Act last year. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

Americans deserve honest government. This text addresses the need for a comprehensive statement of ethical behavior for public officials and employees at every level of government. Recognizing the need for legal reforms that focus mainly on campaign contributions, the authors examine the broader question of how we should measure the routine, day-to-day ethics of men and women in public service. By focussing more on attitudes and practices, the authors suggest that the highest standard of both ethics and competence should be demanded of all our public servants. The book identifies situations in which officials ought to act cautiously and presents the ethical rules that should be applied to each situation. The text presents a philosophy of public service and then moves to particular situations to which this philosophy must be applied: campaign finance; the campaign itself; behavior of elected officials, appointed officials, and public employees; the role of lobbyists; compensation for public servants; moving to and from the public and private sectors; ethical guidelines for lawyers and judges; the private lives of public servants; and enforcement of ethics. The final chapter discusses the sometimes competing forces of ethics and competency. Ethical guidelines are gathered in the appendix and serve as a useful starting point for ethics in any public service setting. The combination of persuasive and thought-provoking proposals for governmental ethics reform along with practical guidelines on how to maintain the highest possible standards of ethical conduct makes this an important text for students in ethics and government courses, as well as an imperative reading for public officials, whether elected, appointed, or career.

Lobbyists and others who seek to participate in public policy activities through the formation of coalitions and associations whose members may not be identifiable, and the use of grassroots campaigns that attempt to mobilize citizens to advance the message of a lobbyist's client have raised concerns. Some lobbying activities have also been linked to campaign finance practices, congressional procedures regarding the acceptance of gifts from lobbyists, and the inclusion of earmarks advocated by lobbyists in appropriations legislation. Legislative proposals related to lobbying focus on six broad areas, including (1) enhanced requirements for electronic filing of lobbying reports and semiannual reports required under LDA; (2) redefinition of the term "client" under the stature; (3) more detailed disclosure by lobbyists of which groups and entities are funding coalitions and associations they represent; (4) more detailed disclosure by lobbyists of the individuals in Congress and the executive branch they contact; (5) congressional rules regarding the interactions of members and staff with lobbyists; (6) the Federal Election Campaing Act of 1971, as amended, as it relates to lobbying activities.

This report discusses and analyzes the proposals in S. 1, 110th Congress, as passed by the Senate on January 18, 2007, concerning congressional ethics, lobbying reform, and proposals to amend Senate procedures to increase legislative transparency. Proposed changes in ethics and lobbying provisions are examined in five general areas: (1) proposed amendments and additions to internal Senate Rules governing such things as the acceptance of gifts by Senators and staff, including gifts of free travel; official contacts with Senators' family members who are lobbyists; influencing private hiring decisions; and mandatory ethics training; (2) amendments to Senate Rule provisions and changes in the federal criminal law concerning "revolving door" restrictions and regulations on former Members and employees of Congress concerning various post-employment "lobbying" activities and privileges, including the requirement to disclose negotiations for future private employment; (3) amendments to the statutory provisions requiring the disclosure of lobbying activities and other activities of registered lobbyists under the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995, as amended; (4) the establishment in the legislative branch of a study commission on ethics and lobbying; and (5) the statutory provisions concerning the forfeiture of federal pension annuities for former Members of Congress for the conviction of certain crimes. Finally, the procedural changes that have been proposed in S. 1, including procedural matters concerning so-called "earmark reforms," matters in conference reports, and cost scoring provisions are also analyzed. Contributors to the report include Jack Maskell, legislative attorney, American Law Division, (coordinator, primarily responsible for covering the provisions concerning congressional ethics, receipt of gifts by Members and staff, "revolving door" and other post-employment conflicts of interest, and pension reform); R. Eric Petersen, analyst in American National Government, Government and Finance Division (lobbying reform); Sandy Streeter, analyst in American National Government, Government and Finance Division (congressional earmark reform); Bill Heniff Jr., analyst in American National Government, Government and Finance Division (CBO scoring); and Todd B. Tatelman, legislative attorney, American Law Division (Senate procedures, conference reports, and COLA adjustments). This report will be updated as warranted.

This volume analyzes government ethics law from the perspective of an academic critic and that of a lawyer who was the chief White House ethics lawyer for two and a half years. Richard Painter argues that the existing ethics regime is in need of substantial reform.