Word: reformer
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...simply more of the same? A year after deriding a proposed Republican lobbying reform bill as toothless and cosmetic, the bill Democrats are poised to finally pass, with Republican support, is similar to the measure they opposed last year...
...Washington's "culture of corruption," the kind that sent former lobbyist Jack Abramoff and former California Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham to prison. Now, as public satisfaction polls with the legislative branch hit new lows and Congress prepares for the month-long August recess, Democrats hope to push through a reform package they refer to as the most sweeping ethics and lobbying legislation in generations...
...What they did was wash the outside of the cup, but the inside of the cup is still filthy," railed Coburn, who said the legislation would present the appearance of reform while still leaving open loopholes. "If you want to fix what's wrong in Congress, you have to make the earmarking process completely transparent. We had a great strong bill in January and they gutted it." That bill, which passed the Senate almost unanimously, had stalled after Sen. DeMint blocked a conference committee from meeting to discuss and reconcile the bill's House and Senate versions because...
...have been complied with. It's a technical point, admits DeMint, but a key one. "One of the reasons Americans have such a low opinion of Congress is that we pretend to do things that we don't actually do, and here we are just pretending to pass real reform," he said. "The [majority] leader can just say that no new earmarks have been added and we'll find out later that they have. There's no teeth to this thing...
...Treasury Department, however, came out against the bill in a statement, saying, "[We] do not believe the approaches taken in the bill reported today would strengthen the hand of the United States in achieving essential economic reform" in China. President Bush has also opposed the bill...