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Lobbying reform legislation will come before the Senate this
week after two committees voted in favor of bills which would
limit the power and reach of lobbyists.
The Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee approved
a bill that would require lobbyists to provide detailed reports
on their activities four times a year and make them available
on the Internet. They previously only had to provide reports twice
a year.
 The
legislation also requires lobbyists to disclose their campaign
contributions and details of any trips they arrange for politicians.
There also was a proposal to create an independent office to
oversee congressional ethics issues, but it was voted down.
The Senate Rules Committee drafted legislation to curtail the
widespread use of "earmarks" -- a practice lawmakers
use to insert pet projects such as roads or special programs into
larger bills.
The bill also prohibits lawmakers from accepting gifts from lobbyists
and requires that former congressmen wait two years before registering
as lobbyists.
Even though Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert, an Illinois
Republican, said in January that Congress "need[s] to reform
the rules," the House of Representatives has been slow to
enact lobbying reforms.
So far, the only lobbying reform approved by the House was to
ban former members from using the House gym and from walking on
the floor of the House chamber.
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Compiled by Brian Wolly and Anne Bell for NewsHour Extra
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Abramoff,
a close friend of powerful Republican Representative Tom Delay
of Texas, has become the public face of what some politicians
refer to as the "culture of corruption" in Washington.
hired
either by an organization to forward its interests or as a consultant
for multiple clients. 
American schools and financial aid should be only for legal citizens of the United States. There should be no exceptions to this.
