Democrats to ‘issue toughest ethics reform’
Democrats to ‘issue toughest ethics reform’
By Edward Luce in Washington
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2007
Published: January 4 2007 20:33 | Last updated: January 4 2007 20:33
The Democratic party took full control of America’s legislative branch on Thursday for the first time since 1994, promising to clean up US politics by introducing the “toughest ethics reform in [America’s] history”.
Nancy Pelosi, the incoming speaker of the House of Representatives and the first woman to hold that job, and Harry Reid, the Senate majority leader, both said that tackling the congressional “culture of corruption” would be their chief priority during the next few days.
The proposals, which are aimed at weakening the notorious links between lawmakers and so-called “K Street” lobbyists that have ballooned in recent years, include a ban on accepting gifts or air tickets from lobby groups and forcing lawmakers to declare their names when they insert in legislation “earmarks” that are sponsored by special interest groups.
According to one widely cited poll, concern over corruption came second only to worry about the war in Iraq among voters at mid-term elections last November. The Democrats also plan to reintroduce the “pay-go” system of budgeting that would compel Congress to fund any tax cut or spending increase with offsetting measures.
“The American people told us that they expect us to work together for fiscal responsibility with the highest ethical standards and civility,” Ms Pelosi told the new house, shortly after she was sworn in on Thursday.
“Let us join together in the first 100 [legislative] hours to make this Congress the most open and honest in history.”
The two leaders also promised to extend the kind of bipartisan courtesies that they claim Republicans denied them during their 12 years in opposition.
Many commentators have labelled the outgoing Congress as one of the most bitter and divisive in history.
However, Republicans claimed Ms Pelosi had already breached that pledge by announcing she would short-circuit the committee process to push her party’s six key electoral promises straight to a vote on the floor of the house within the next two weeks.
These include raising the minimum wage by $2.10 to $7.25 – the first increase since 1997 – and a bill to promote federal funding of stem cell research. They also plan to abolish recent tax breaks and subsidies for oil companies.
“If you look at the rules changes the Democratic leadership are proposing, they are mostly very positive and long overdue,” said Scott Lilly at the Centre for American Progress, a liberal think tank. “But it is hard to understand why the leadership is by-passing normal procedures to push through its “100-hour” promises.”
Both Democratic leaders also issued thinly veiled warnings to George W. Bush, US president, to desist from announcing a “surge” in the level of US forces in Iraq.
Mr Bush is expected to announce his “new way forward in Iraq” next week.
Ms Pelosi, whose party commands a 31-seat majority in the 435-strong house, called for a plan “that allows us to responsibly redeploy American forces” out of Iraq.
Mr Reid, whose party holds a precariously narrow 51-49 seat majority in the Senate, said: “The president’s new plan must ensure the Iraqis take responsibility for their own future, and it must remove our troops from a dangerous civil war.
“Completing the mission in Iraq is the president’s job, and we will do everything in our power to ensure he fulfils it.”
By Edward Luce in Washington
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2007
Published: January 4 2007 20:33 | Last updated: January 4 2007 20:33
The Democratic party took full control of America’s legislative branch on Thursday for the first time since 1994, promising to clean up US politics by introducing the “toughest ethics reform in [America’s] history”.
Nancy Pelosi, the incoming speaker of the House of Representatives and the first woman to hold that job, and Harry Reid, the Senate majority leader, both said that tackling the congressional “culture of corruption” would be their chief priority during the next few days.
The proposals, which are aimed at weakening the notorious links between lawmakers and so-called “K Street” lobbyists that have ballooned in recent years, include a ban on accepting gifts or air tickets from lobby groups and forcing lawmakers to declare their names when they insert in legislation “earmarks” that are sponsored by special interest groups.
According to one widely cited poll, concern over corruption came second only to worry about the war in Iraq among voters at mid-term elections last November. The Democrats also plan to reintroduce the “pay-go” system of budgeting that would compel Congress to fund any tax cut or spending increase with offsetting measures.
“The American people told us that they expect us to work together for fiscal responsibility with the highest ethical standards and civility,” Ms Pelosi told the new house, shortly after she was sworn in on Thursday.
“Let us join together in the first 100 [legislative] hours to make this Congress the most open and honest in history.”
The two leaders also promised to extend the kind of bipartisan courtesies that they claim Republicans denied them during their 12 years in opposition.
Many commentators have labelled the outgoing Congress as one of the most bitter and divisive in history.
However, Republicans claimed Ms Pelosi had already breached that pledge by announcing she would short-circuit the committee process to push her party’s six key electoral promises straight to a vote on the floor of the house within the next two weeks.
These include raising the minimum wage by $2.10 to $7.25 – the first increase since 1997 – and a bill to promote federal funding of stem cell research. They also plan to abolish recent tax breaks and subsidies for oil companies.
“If you look at the rules changes the Democratic leadership are proposing, they are mostly very positive and long overdue,” said Scott Lilly at the Centre for American Progress, a liberal think tank. “But it is hard to understand why the leadership is by-passing normal procedures to push through its “100-hour” promises.”
Both Democratic leaders also issued thinly veiled warnings to George W. Bush, US president, to desist from announcing a “surge” in the level of US forces in Iraq.
Mr Bush is expected to announce his “new way forward in Iraq” next week.
Ms Pelosi, whose party commands a 31-seat majority in the 435-strong house, called for a plan “that allows us to responsibly redeploy American forces” out of Iraq.
Mr Reid, whose party holds a precariously narrow 51-49 seat majority in the Senate, said: “The president’s new plan must ensure the Iraqis take responsibility for their own future, and it must remove our troops from a dangerous civil war.
“Completing the mission in Iraq is the president’s job, and we will do everything in our power to ensure he fulfils it.”
posted by Carlos T Mock @ 9:17 AM
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