Lobbyists

Returning to power after 12 years, House Democrats on Thursday elected Nancy Pelosi as the first female speaker and moved swiftly to adopt rules to rein in the influence of lobbyists. Pelosi, also the first Californian to lead the House, and new Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) put President Bush on notice that they intend to press for a new policy on Iraq.

Jack Valenti is busily scripting the end of his legendary life. But, even after 85 years, it's very much a work in progress. Valenti, who ended his 38-year run as Hollywood's leading man in the nation's capital more than two years ago, continues to work five days a week as something of an icon-on-call.

Senators are ready to relinquish lobbyist-paid steak dinners and skybox seats at sports arenas. But giving up the use of corporate jets at bargain prices may be one reform too many for them. Although a ban on using corporate jets flew through the House last week, it faces strong political headwinds in the Senate, which began debate Monday on its own ethics overhaul. The legislation, which Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.

Regarding "Still in the spotlight" (Jan. 7): For so long, lobbyists have generally had a sour reputation. But not Jack Valenti, who makes the most of life after so many years. What a great inspiration. Greg Golden \o7Van Nuys \f7 \o7 \f7

A former Bush administration official, once described by Jack Abramoff as "our guy" at the Interior Department, pleaded guilty Friday to lying to Senate investigators probing the scandal surrounding the convicted Republican lobbyist. J. Steven Griles, a coal mining official who was deputy to Interior Secretary Gale A.

While pledging to turn down donations from lobbyists themselves, Sen. Barack Obama raised more than $1 million in the first three months of his presidential campaign from law firms and companies that have major lobbying operations in the nation's capital. Portraying himself as a new-style politician determined to reform Washington, Obama makes his policy clear in fundraising invitations, stating that he takes no donations from "federal lobbyists."

Two City Hall lobbyists who are former presidents of city commissions have agreed to pay fines for violating city ethics rules, according to documents released Thursday by the Los Angeles Ethics Commission. Dominick Rubalcava, who was president of the city Water and Power Commission during the administration of Mayor James K. Hahn, was fined $3,000 for failing to register as a City Hall lobbyist, pay registration fees and file quarterly activity reports.

The governor of the Northern Mariana Islands said Thursday that he was cooperating with the Justice Department's corruption investigation surrounding imprisoned GOP lobbyist Jack Abramoff. The tiny U.S. commonwealth is also still trying to retrieve some of the millions it paid Abramoff's firms, said Gov. Benigno R. Fitial. Fitial referred questions about the Justice Department's inquiry to his Los Angeles attorney, Tom Pollack, who didn't immediately return calls for comment.

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.

Congress on Thursday sent President Bush a bill aimed at reining in the influence of special interests, completing a long-debated overhaul of ethics and lobbying rules spurred by scandals that rocked Capitol Hill. The measure grew out of a pledge by Democrats to "drain the swamp" after they won majorities in both congressional chambers in last fall's elections. It passed the Senate, 83-14, after clearing the House, 411-8, earlier this week.