10A THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
NEWS
WEDNESDAY. MARCH 1, 2006
A good day to play fetch
Matt Roth, Wichita sophomore, right, plays fetch with Castro and Thunder at "Mutt Run" Off-leash Dog Park near Clinton Lake. Brian Buller, Hesston sophomore, said he takes his black labrador, Thunder, to the dog park about every other day. Thunder has been with Buller since last May. Buller says he he's most determined when retrieving.
Jared Gab/KANSAN
GOVERNMENT
Lawmakers clean up Congress
BY JIM ABRAMS THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
WASHINGTON - The public would know when a senator has a drink on a lobbyist's tab or quietly inserts a pet project into legislation under a measure that won unanimous approval Tuesday by a Senate committee.
The 17-0 Rules Committee vote was the Senate's first stab at cleaning up the image of lawmakers tamished two months ago when former lobbyist Jack Abramoff pleaded guilty in a federal corruption investigation involving the use of millions of dollars to influence policy.
In the one party-line vote of the day, the panel rejected a Democratic alternative, offered by ranking Democrat Christopher Dodd of Connecticut, that he said would add some badly needed muscle to the proposal. Dodd's plan would have gone
The measure, sponsored by committee chairman Trent Lott, R-Miss., emphasizes greater transparency in interactions with lobbyists; Democrats on the panel, while generally favorable to provisions in the measure, said they didn't go far enough.
beyond Lott's ban on gifts from lobbyists to prohibit meals paid for by lobbyists and further restricted privately funded travel.
It also would have increased the moratorium for lawmakers accepting a lobbying job to two years—Lott's proposal retains
year waiting period—and required mandatory annual ethics training for congressional employees.
Senate Minority Leader
"The used car salesman is about one notch above us."
report on events attended during the trip and the names of accompanying lobbyists.
Members catching rides on corporate jets for official trips would have to list the names of all those on the plane, including lobbyists.
Privately funded trips would have to be preapproved by the Senate ethics committee and members would have to file a
Under Lott's proposal, lawmakers could still accept food and drinks from a lobbyist but would have to post the values of their meals on their Web sites within 15 days.
Harry Reid, D-Nev., said his party would continue working for "real reform" when the lobbying issue reaches the Senate floor. "The current proposal simply does not go far enough to put tough new rules on lobbying."
Sen. Daniel Inouye D-Hawaii
The reputation of the Senate is at stake, said Den. Daniel Inouye, D-Hawaii, a Rules Committee member, in calling for strong lobbying reform
measures. Currently, he said,
"The used car salesman is about one notch above us."
The Rules Committee vote was the first in a series of actions in coming weeks intended to reduce the taint of scandal as legislators face disillusioned voters in an election year. The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee on Thursday takes up a more comprehensive bill, sponsored by Sens. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Joe Lieberman, D-Conn. The full Senate could consider a combination of the two bills as early as next week.
SLOW COOKED, DELICATELY SPICED. GOURMET INGREDIENTS. WRAPPED IN FOIL FOR IRONY.
pr at P e r a w in ar w U in th m a l f o r t o w a s s t c l w m c t c t c t c t