'Reform' May Still Depend On Abramoff

Lobbying legislation will proceed one of two ways this year: a bidding war or a slow walk.

If disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff drops the dime on a bunch of lawmakers and several of them are indicted, Congress won't be able to say no to even the harshest anti-lobbying measures. That would produce a bidding war to see which political party and which chamber of Congress could get tougher on lobbyists.

But if Abramoff dawdles and not much happens, lawmakers will take their sweet time moving legislation through committee. The longer the process takes, the weaker the legislation will be. Recent bold calls for "reform" by party leaders would then be slow-walked into not much change at all.

Nobody knows which way things will go (though the betting leans toward the latter).

Already, the new House majority leader, John A. Boehner (R-Ohio), has proposed backing off such strict sanctions as bans on privately paid meals and travel, substituting extra disclosure instead.

In the meantime, plenty is going on.

Since Abramoff pleaded guilty a few weeks ago to trying to bribe public officials, lobbyists have gone from lawmakers' comrades-in-arms to their worst enemies. Dozens of congressional offices have barred staffers from eating with lobbyists -- once a regular occurrence. Trips paid for by lobbying groups for members and their aides have been canceled or have been wanting for participants. And once-routine meetings between lawmakers and lobbyists have been terminated for appearances' sake.

Lobbyists have also developed a larger-than-usual aversion to journalists. Not many ever have been eager for publicity. But a lot of lobbyists don't see how getting their names in the newspaper could help them during this sensitive period.

So here are a few glimpses of what's going on behind the scenes -- offered by participants on condition of anonymity.

One lobbyist for health-related industries told me he's giving up seats to Nationals baseball games because he doesn't expect congressional staffers or members of Congress to be able to use them.

Another lobbyist for a variety of industries, who is accustomed to picking up the tab for fine dining in downtown D.C., accompanied a tax staffer to lunch in the Longworth House Office Building cafeteria -- and they went Dutch.

A third lobbyist told the board of his organization that it ought to be glad that it never set up a political fund for lawmakers because these days, he said, "PACs are guilty until proven innocent."