WASHINGTON — In the most sweeping overhaul of congressional ethics rules since the Watergate era, the House on Tuesday overwhelmingly approved a bill aimed at curbing the influence of lobbyists and repairing Congress' corruption-sullied image.
Democrats promised to pass the measure after they won control of Congress following a campaign that denounced the Republican "culture of corruption" on Capitol Hill.
The legislation is one of a number of accomplishments that the majority party, ridiculed by Republicans for its slim legislative record, hopes to deliver before lawmakers break at the end of the week for a monthlong recess. The Senate plans to approve an identical bill this week and send it to President Bush for his signature.
The bill would impose new rules on lawmakers and lobbyists, requiring reports on the campaign checks that lobbyists solicit from different contributors and denying congressional pensions to lawmakers convicted of felonies. It would even bar senators-turned-lobbyists from setting foot in the Senate gym.
"If there was one message that was abundantly clear based on the results of last year's election, it was that the American people want us to end the culture of corruption that has enveloped the legislative process," said Rep. John Conyers Jr. (D-Mich.), chairman of the House Judiciary Committee. "We've heard that message loud and clear."
The bill's 411-8 approval comes after two former Republican lawmakers -- Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham of Rancho Santa Fe and Rep. Bob Ney of Ohio -- and former lobbyist Jack Abramoff were sent to prison on corruption charges.
About a dozen current and former lawmakers, including two other California Republicans, have come under scrutiny. Just this week, federal agents involved in a public corruption investigation searched the Alaska home of Sen. Ted Stevens, the chamber's longest-serving Republican. Stevens has denied any wrongdoing.
Bob Edgar, a former Democratic congressman from Pennsylvania who heads the government watchdog group Common Cause, lauded Tuesday's House action. "It was kind of a surprise to us that it passed as overwhelmingly as it did, as quickly as it did," he said, saying the congressional agility was a response to widespread voter anger. "They want Congress to clean up its act."
