Bundles of Influence
The checks that lobbyists collect matter more than the ones they sign.

Tuesday, January 9, 2007

THE MOST pernicious aspect of the relationship between lawmakers and lobbyists doesn't involve skybox tickets or golf junkets. It centers on the role that lobbyists play in providing lawmakers with the campaign cash they need to survive. Lobbyists write their own checks, which must be disclosed. But lobbyists are even more valuable to politicians in their role as bundlers, tapping their clients and other networks to deliver campaign cash far in excess of what they are permitted to contribute personally. The master of the bundling game was President Bush, with his $200,000-and-up Rangers and his $100,000-and-up Pioneers.

Yet while you can be assured that lawmakers and their campaigns know who their big bundlers are, and that the bundlers keep careful track of how much they help bring in, the people aren't let in on the news. That information ought to be made public, especially regarding those who make their livings seeking to influence Congress.

A provision that would require such disclosure is part of a strong package of ethics and lobbying reforms introduced yesterday by Sens. Russell Feingold (D-Wis.) and Barack Obama (D-Ill.). It would require lobbyists to disclose not only their contributions but also the donations they collect or arrange, along with checks going to presidential libraries, inaugural committees and lawmakers' charities. No single change would add more to public understanding of how money really operates in Washington.

Unfortunately, this change is not expected to be part of the reform package to be introduced today by the new Senate leadership, though its bill promises to be a significant improvement over the measure passed by the Senate last year. But Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) has promised to permit an open amendment process. "I'm here to show that the Democratic caucus's commitment to giving America a government as good and honest as the people it serves really does exist," Mr. Reid said at a news conference yesterday. We look forward to the vote on the bundling amendment, with the new leader providing strong support.