Lawmakers Embrace Lobbyist Cash
WASHINGTON — Capitol Hill is abuzz these days with talk about keeping lobbyists at a distance. But when it comes to the political cash they can generate, interest in keeping them near remains strong.
This weekend, Rep. Howard P. "Buck" McKeon (R-Santa Clarita) is hosting a $5,000-per-person gathering -- which invitations said would feature golf, fishing, snorkeling and "much, much more" -- in the Florida Keys. McKeon anticipated that many of the guests would be lobbyists.
Also this weekend, lobbyists are among those at "Winterfest '06," where supporters of Sen. Conrad Burns (R-Mont.) can ski and snowmobile at the exclusive Yellowstone Club in his home state.
And in Washington, scores of less flashy, but still lucrative, fundraisers will be held in the coming weeks for Republican and Democratic lawmakers alike. Lobbyists, along with clients and friends, will constitute many of those in attendance.
The expensive events are perfectly legal. But they have raised questions about whether Congress is missing the point as it responds to the scandal surrounding lobbyist Jack Abramoff, the once-powerful influence peddler who this year pleaded guilty to defrauding clients and conspiring to bribe lawmakers.
As has become clear in recent days, legislation with the best chance of passing does not tackle campaign finance issues, but would require members of Congress and lobbyists to more fully detail their contacts with each other.
Some lawmakers and many watchdog groups say a failure to address what they see as the source of lobbyists' greatest influence -- political contributions -- would be a glaring oversight.
"If we're truly serious about getting to the core of the problem, we need to look not only at lobbying reform but at campaign finance reform," Sen. Christopher J. Dodd (D-Conn.) said.
But Dodd agreed with other members of a key Senate committee last week that trying to limit the fundraising clout of lobbyists as part of efforts to overhaul congressional ethics rules would virtually ensure that neither takes place.
Figures compiled by the Center for Responsive Politics, a nonpartisan group that studies political fundraising, illustrate the growing importance of lobbyists in producing donations.
The group found that lobbyists' contributions to 2004 congressional candidates totaled $22 million -- nearly five times as much as a decade earlier. And that figure does not include the substantial amounts that lobbyists persuaded others to give.
