Lobbying Changes Divide House GOP

According to witnesses, the handful speaking for the wider election -- including Sweeney, Lungren and Rep. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) -- were outnumbered 5 to 1 by those opposed, including committee chairmen such as Barton and Robert W. Goodlatte (R-Va.) of the Agriculture Committee.

But once the motion went to a secret ballot, the ratio for and against it proved much closer. Republican leadership aides conceded they were surprised -- and distressed -- by the vote, but dismissed supporters of the resolution as a disjointed band of malcontents, protest voters and members seeking to knock off individual leadership members for personal reasons.

"It's an interesting environment, where people cast their votes with all kinds of motivations," Blunt said afterward.

Close as it was, the vote was a good sign for Blunt. He has offered himself up as the candidate of continuity, experience and proven leadership against Boehner and Shadegg, who have called for more dramatic change.

The divisions over the lobbying rule changes could prove to be a longer-term headache for Republican leaders. After Abramoff's guilty plea, Hastert and Dreier rushed to announce they would put forward a tough package that would ban privately funded trips for lawmakers and limit the value of gifts to $20. The ban on House floor access for lawmakers-turned-lobbyists and the lobbyist spouses of current lawmakers was to be the first act of the 2006 session of Congress, a sign of how serious Hastert is.

But leaders returned to Washington this week to find many lawmakers less than enthusiastic. Boehner called the ban on privately funded trips "childish." Others said the immediate disclosure of gifts, not a limit on the gifts' value, would more effectively limit lobbying influence.

Oxley said banning the access of former lawmakers to the gym would stifle social calls in one of the last locations where bipartisanship reigns. He also suggested that convicted felons, such as Cunningham, could use the House gym while respected former lawmakers could not. "We've clearly overreached," Oxley said on the House floor.

After the House vote yesterday, several members, including Oxley and DeLay, walked to the Senate side of the Capitol to attend a social event. Among those in attendance: former representative Bill Paxon (R-N.Y.) and former senator Rod Grams (R-Minn.), both of whom became registered lobbyists.