Rep. Jerrold Nadler Holds a Hearing On Senate Lobbying Reform Bill

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Rep. Jerrold Nadler Holds a Hearing On Senate Lobbying Reform Bill

HOUSE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE, SUBCOMMITTEE ON THE CONSTITUTION, CIVIL RIGHTS AND CIVIL LIBERTIES HOLDS A HEARING ON S. 1, THE SENATE APPROACH TO LOBBYING REFORM

MARCH 1, 2007

SPEAKERS: REP. JERROLD NADLER, D-N.Y. CHAIRMAN REP. ARTUR DAVIS, D-ALA. REP. DEBBIE WASSERMAN-SCHULTZ, D-FLA. REP. KEITH ELLISON, D-MINN. REP. JOHN CONYERS JR., D-MICH. REP. ROBERT C. SCOTT, D-VA. REP. MELVIN WATT, D-N.C. REP. STEPHEN I. COHEN, D-TENN.

REP. TRENT FRANKS, R-ARIZ. RANKING MEMBER REP. MIKE PENCE, R-IND. REP. DARRELL ISSA, R-CALIF. REP. STEVE KING, R-IOWA REP. JIM JORDAN, R-OHIO REP. LAMAR SMITH, R-TEXAS EX OFFICIO

WITNESSES: KENNETH A. GROSS, SKADDEN, ARPS, SLATE, MEAGHER & FLOM LLP

SARAH DUFENDACH, CHIEF OF LEGISLATIVE AFFAIRS COMMON CAUSE

BRADLEY A. SMITH, PROFESSOR OF LAW CAPITAL UNIVERSITY LAW SCHOOL

THOMAS E. MANN, THE BROOKINGS INSTITUTION

[*] NADLER: Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. This hearing of the Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Civil Liberties will come to order.

I'd like to begin by welcoming everyone to the first hearing of this subcommittee in the 110th Congress. In particular, I want to extend a warm welcome to the Ranking Member of the subcommittee, Mr. Franks.

I know that whatever disagreements we may have on particular matters of policy -- and I am sure there will be some -- we share a dedication to the important work of the subcommittee.

I also want to welcome the very distinguished members of this panel, and especially to our new members.

We have an outstanding panel. And I very much look forward to our working together.

I'll begin by making an opening statement, before I turn for an opening statement to Mr. Franks.

Recent scandals -- including criminal convictions, involving prominent lobbyists, members of Congress, of the executive branch, and of their staffs -- have heightened public awareness of the need to reform some of the ways in which Congress does its business. In keeping with our pledge to reform this institution, the Democratic leadership put forward, and the House adopted, changes to the House Rules in the first 100 hours of this Congress.

Today, we begin consideration of proposed changes to the lobby disclosure act. The Senate has already acted with the passage of S. 1. The House is now beginning its consideration of these issues.

In addition to the Senate bill, we also have a number of proposals put forward by members of this committee, by other members of the House and by various activists. These proposals merit careful consideration.

It is my hope that this hearing will enlighten our efforts and that we will be able to work together on a bipartisan basis to advance a reform agenda.

Some of these issues are very difficult. But we have an obligation to deal with them and to deal with them right.

The American people sent a clear message in November that they want their government cleaned up. We would ignore that message at our peril. If the public loses confidence that the process of lawmaking is fair and open to all on an equal basis, then that can only undermine respect for the rule of law.

I would just add that the whole question of lobbyists is only one part of the problem. The core issue is the pervasive influence of money in politics. So long as we have a political system in which office seekers must raise large sums of money from people with a direct interest in legislation, the regulation of lobbying by itself will not fully solve this problem. A lobbyist without a PAC has a hard time corrupting the process. We must ensure that a private citizen without a PAC gets at least the same consideration as the powerful moneyed interests. That is the ultimate goal of our work.

So I want to welcome our witnesses today and thank them for their testimony and their assistance.

I would now recognize our ...

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