WASHINGTON — Amid great fanfare, Republican and Democratic leaders this week called for tough new rules that they vowed would curb the ability of lobbyists to use lavish gifts to influence Congress.
But a crucial question remains: whether either party's plans would alter the close relationship between the capital's lobbyists and lawmakers.
Many groups that want stricter lobbying laws say they are encouraged by the plans outlined and the rhetoric offered. But the measures, they say, will be truly sweeping only if additional steps are taken.
The proposals still must be written into legislation, and only then will it become clear whether they are as tough as lawmakers have proclaimed them to be.
The lobbying rules also must be backed by solid enforcement mechanisms, critics say. And many say the only way Congress can truly change how lobbyists deal with lawmakers is if it also enacts campaign finance reform -- a provision missing from both parties' plans.
"There are going to be changes," said Fred Wertheimer, president and chief executive of Democracy 21, a government watchdog group. "The battle is going to be over whether those changes are strong and effective."
Congress has been spurred to action by former lobbyist Jack Abramoff's guilty pleas to federal fraud and conspiracy charges stemming from his dispersal of gifts, travel and campaign contributions to lawmakers. Abramoff has agreed to help prosecutors probe his relationships with members of Congress, raising the prospect that more Capitol Hill figures could face charges.
The scandal has rocked Washington and promises to be a key theme in November's elections, when Republican control of the House and Senate is at stake.
"There is what I call the pre-Abramoff plea bargain period and the post-Abramoff plea bargain period," Wertheimer said. "We are seeing, at least for the moment, a ... war unleashed between Democrats and Republicans" attempting to claim the lead in reining in lobbyists.
The fight is shaping up to be fiercely partisan.
"The Republicans have turned Congress into an auction house for sale to the highest bidder," House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) said Wednesday as Democrats laid out their package of proposed legislative and rules changes. The Democratic proposals came one day after House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) and other Republicans unveiled their lobbying law overhaul proposals.
