$200-a-Head Dinner Doesn't Pass Taste Test
While the Senate began debating stricter ethics rules for its members this week, a fancy dinner planned for some Senate press secretaries tomorrow night in New York, paid for with corporate money, has raised a few eyebrows.
Two dozen flacks will arrive in Manhattan today for an annual excursion to meet with media outlets, a trip sanctioned by the Senate ethics committee as "official" business. This means that the aides pay for costs out of pocket -- Amtrak, W Hotel, chartered bus -- and later request reimbursement from official funds. The itinerary shows the members of the bipartisan Senate Press Secretaries Association with a full schedule of meetings with such organizations as the Wall Street Journal, CBS, NBC, the United Nations and others connected to their work.
  The elegant Rainbow Room at New York's Rockefeller Plaza will be the site of the expense-paid dinner for the Senate Press Secretaries Association. (By Suzanne Plunkett -- Associated Press) |
But the "gasp" factor, as one corporate executive put it, centers on the $200-a-head closing dinner at the elite Rainbow Room, one of the country's best-known upscale restaurants, sponsored by seven high-profile corporations with business interests before Congress. They include the American Gas Association, Toyota, the Recording Industry Association of America and Microsoft. Because rules limit to $50 what an aide can accept for a meal, and because fried calamari alone costs $35 at the Rockefeller Plaza establishment, one might ask how these folks can justify accepting an invitation to the dinner.
Here's how: Their letter from the ethics committee explains that under the rules, they may accept a free meal if it is at a "widely attended event" -- at least 25 people from outside Congress. This rule, as it turns out, is a real boon to these sponsoring corporations that have each been asked by Dittus Communications, the organizer, to bring five guests to the dinner.
John Reid, president of the Press Secretaries Association and former spokesman for defeated senator George Allen (R-Va.), said the group was meticulous in its commitment to staying within the letter of the law.
But one lobbyist who is not attending the dinner noted that "given the [political] atmosphere right now, appearances matter. . . . Everyone is being very careful about this type of stuff."
As far as the ethics watchdogs are concerned, the dinner doesn't pass the smell test. "This is a kind of access and influence buying that concerns us," said Mary Boyle, a spokeswoman for Common Cause. "Why are these companies doing this? The only answer is for goodwill. They want to be remembered, they want to influence these communicators. Everyone knows press secretaries are very influential."
Kerry Stepping Up?
As Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.) waits patiently for his Senate colleague John Kerry to get off the fence and reveal his presidential intentions, the 2004 Democratic standard-bearer is adding high-profile operatives who could easily slide into campaign mode. Kerry has brought on as a consultant Erik Smith, onetime communications strategist for former congressman Dick Gephardt (D-Mo.), and Vince Morris, most recently the spokesman for former D.C. mayor Anthony Williams, as his Senate press secretary.
Kennedy said that he would support Kerry in 2008 if he makes another presidential run but that he can't wait forever for his decision. No clue where Kennedy would turn should Kerry not run -- but his best pal is Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.), who has ambitions of his own.
The Limits of Power
Sources say that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) has told the Democratic committee chairmen who were angered by the six-year term limits imposed upon them last week that she would consider revisiting the issue -- but only if they muster the votes to abolish the rule. This raises the question: What ambitious legislator hoping to rise to chairman before being moved into a nursing home is going to oppose term limits? Among those who are sore after having waited 12 years for their turn at the helm: Appropriations Chairman David Obey (Wis.), Oversight and Government Reform Chairman Henry Waxman (Calif.), and Energy and Commerce Chairman John Dingell (Mich.).
A Very Safe Landing
It can never be said that Conrad Burns (R-Mont.), whose ties to lobbyists cost him his Senate seat last November, is inconsistent. He'll be joining Gage, a Washington lobbying firm that was founded by his former aide, Leo Giacometto. While most Beltway insiders will recall the more than $150,000 that Burns accepted from now-imprisoned lobbyist Jack Abramoff and his clients, Burns was also excoriated for the tens of millions of dollars in earmarks he steered to Giacometto's clients, which sparked an audit by the Montana legislature. Now, rather than asking Burns for official earmark favors, Giacometto will get to boss around his old boss. Under Senate rules, Burns, hired as a senior adviser, will have to wait one year before he can directly lobby his former colleagues.
Final Note
We heard a number of complaints last week because we used the word "catfight" to describe a disagreement between two distinguished members of Congress -- Pelosi and Rep. Jane Harman (D-Calif.). To those who civilly articulated reasons why the term is inappropriate, we say: Point taken.
