Statement of U.S. Senator Russ Feingold
On the Need for Lobbying and Ethics Reform
Revolving Door Press Conference
October 26, 2005
Good afternoon. I am pleased to join Public Citizen, Common Cause, and other
members of the Revolving Door Working Group to announce the release
of their new report. And I’m glad that my longtime friend and
colleague, Mr. Meehan, is here as well. We have a pretty good track
record working together on reform legislation.
Issues relating to the so-called “revolving door” are
a significant component of the problems with lobbying that have gained
a great deal of attention in the past year or so. I think we are rapidly
approaching a tipping point, where the public will become fed up with
the status quo and demand reform. This report will add a lot to the
effort to pass legislation to address the problem. .
The revolving door is a problem for two basic reasons. First, because
of the revolving door some interests have better access to the legislative
process than others. Former members and staff, or former executive branch
employees, know how to work the system and get results for their clients.
Those that have the money to hire them have a leg up. The public perceives
this as an unfairness in the process, and I agree. Decisions in Congress
on legislation, or in regulatory agencies on regulations or enforcement,
or in the Defense Department on huge government contracts should be
made on the merits, not based on who has the best connected lobbyist.
The second problem with the revolving door is that it creates the perception
that public officials are cashing in on their public service, trading
on their connections and their knowledge for personal profit. When you
see former Members or staff becoming lobbyists and making three, four,
or five times what they made in government service, that just looks
bad.
Both sides of this coin combine to further the cynicism about how policy
is made in this country and who is making it. That, ultimately, is the
biggest problem. The public loses confidence in elected officials and
public servants. That is why this was one of the very first issues that
Sen. John McCain and I worked on together back in 1995. And it remains
a problem today; indeed it has become an even bigger problem as shown
by the report released today.
The Lobbying and Ethics Reform Act that I have introduced, S. 1398,
includes provisions intended to get at the revolving door. So does a
bill introduced by Representatives Meehan and Emmanuel in the House.
As we move forward, we will look carefully at the recommendations contained
in this report.
I have now been in Congress for nearly 13 years. I have learned that
there is much about the way things work here that the public doesn’t
like. But there is also a lot that they don’t know about. That
is why reports like this are so important. They inform the public, and
once the public sees what is going on, it demands change. We saw it
with the gift ban and lobbying disclosure a decade ago. We saw it with
campaign finance reform a few years ago, and I think we are going to
see it very soon with the revolving door and other problems with lobbying
in this town, including the excesses made notorious by the Jack Abramoff
scandals.
So I want to thank again this Working Group for work and their report.
I look forward to working with them and trying to pass legislation to
address this significant issue. Thank you.
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