WASHINGTON, DC-- Senator Susan Collins today joined Senators John McCain
(R-AZ), Russ Feingold (D-WI), Joseph Lieberman (D-CT) and Representatives
Chris Shays (R-CT) and Marty Meehan (D-MA) in a press conference on Capitol
Hill to renew their commitment to meaningful lobbying reform. Last year,
Senators Collins and Lieberman authored lobbying reform legislation that was
approved by the Senate, but later stalled in a House-Senate negotiating
committee. The bipartisan group of Senators and Representatives called for
lobbying reform legislation in the new congress.
Senator Collins said, “I am pleased to join my colleagues in reassuring
the American people that the cause of lobbying reform has been delayed, but
not defeated. We will dedicate ourselves to seeing that this issue is taken up
early in the new year.
Senator Collins said that when she and her colleagues begin work on a new
lobbying reform bill, the bill should include the requirement that activities
of lobbyists be disclosed; that there be included a ban on gifts from
lobbyists and lobbyist-funded travel; and reform of the earmark process. She
also said that she plans to continue to press for an Office of Public
Integrity, a proposal she and Senator Lieberman included in their earlier
bill.
“We need to ensure that the ethics enforcement process within Congress
is effective and sufficiently transparent to restore public confidence in the
system. An independent Office of Public Integrity within the Legislative
Branch would be able to conduct nonpartisan investigations of possible ethics
violations. These independent investigations would ensure public confidence in
the enforcement of any laws we pass to enhance congressional ethics,” Senator
Collins said.