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Expresses disappointment that bill lacks sufficient earmark transparency

Congresswoman Virginia Foxx (NC-5) today voted for a bill (S.1) that makes changes to the rules governing lobbying and ethics in Congress, while also noting her disappointment that the bill does too little to reform congressional openness. The bill includes provisions on the disclosure requirements for lobbying activities and earmarks.

“Making Congress more open and stripping away anything that smacks of secrecy is one of my top priorities,” Foxx said. “This bill claims to be about openness but it could have done much more to make this body focus on the American people and not on back room deal-making.”

This bill is the third attempt by the majority to push lobbying reform through Congress after previous attempts stalled. It contains less earmark transparency than a Republican bill that passed last year. That bill applied reforms to all earmarks, while under the current rules it is impossible to challenge some types of earmarks—meaning billions in taxpayer-funded earmarks can be passed without sufficient scrutiny and debate.

“We can do better than this,” Foxx said. “Last year we proved that we can make the entire process open—why not continue the trend this year?”

The lobbying and ethics legislation also addresses the so-called “revolving door” on Capitol Hill whereby members of Congress move from elected office to high-paid lobbyist. But the bill fails to put equal restrictions on Representatives and Senators. As a result, House members will be governed by a weaker revolving-door prohibition than senators, and will be permitted to lobby their colleagues a year after leaving Congress, as opposed to the stricter two-year rule for the Senate.

“The way this bill has been methodically weakened over time is disappointing,” Foxx said. “Americans deserve more, and I hope that we can deliver real substance next time around.”

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