Capitol's revolving door.Byline: The Register-Guard Nowhere is the Pogo Platitude - "We have met the enemy and he is us" - more appropriate than in describing the increasingly symbiotic relationship symbiotic relationship (sim´bīot´ik), n in implantology, that relationship assumed by an implant and the natural teeth to which it has been splinted. between congressional lawmakers and lobbyists. Senators and representatives have grown comfortable with lobbyists for a reason: 43 percent of the 198 House and Senate members who left government service since 1998 have become lobbyists, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. an analysis by the nonprofit watchdog group Public Citizen. These newly minted lobbyists are folks who used to work side by side with elected officials in the Capitol. The problem is they're still working side by side, and eating side by side and sweating side by side, even after some of them have left office. For the lawmaker-turned-lobbyist, the advantages of having served in Congress extend beyond just knowing the players personally. One of the little-known perks perk 1 v. perked, perk·ing, perks v.intr. 1. To stick up or jut out: dogs' ears that perk. 2. To carry oneself in a lively and jaunty manner. of a congressional career is lifetime access to the Capitol's member's-only restaurants and workout facilities, not to mention free run of the House and Senate floors. All the better to chat up the chairman of the committee debating a bill of interest to the lobbyist's client. As recently as the 1980s, it was considered tacky for former members of Congress to take up lobbying. But as the partisanship intensified in Washington, demand for Capitol insiders shot up, and so did lobbyists' salaries. More Republicans than Democrats have made the move to K Street - home of Washington's biggest lobbying firms - since 1998, but that's a reflection of their bigger clout in Congress. Access is power in Washington, and no ordinary citizen has anything approaching the access of a lobbyist who happens to also be a former member of Congress. Easy Reform No. 1: Revoke the special access privileges of any former lawmaker who becomes a lobbyist. Easy Reform No. 2: Prohibit members of Congress from negotiating future employment while serving in Congress, and make them wait much longer than one year before they can become lobbyists. Call this one the "Tauzin Rule," named for former Rep. Billy Tauzin Wilbert Joseph Tauzin, II, usually known as Billy Tauzin, (born June 14 1943), American politician of Cajun descent, was a member of the United States House of Representatives from 1980 to 2005, representing Louisiana's 3rd congressional district. , R-La. As chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, Tauzin helped make the badly flawed Medicare prescription drug prescription drug Prescription medication Pharmacology An FDA-approved drug which must, by federal law or regulation, be dispensed only pursuant to a prescription–eg, finished dose form and active ingredients subject to the provisos of the Federal Food, Drug, bill a golden goose The Golden Goose (Die goldene Gans) is a fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm (Tale 64). Several elements in its narrative structure follow formulaic elements in the methodology that was formulated by Antti Aarne and his translator Stith Thompson (the for the pharmaceutical industry in 2003. His reward? One year after leaving Congress, Tauzin became president of the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) is an industry trade group representing the pharmaceutical research and biotechnology companies in the United States. , the industry's main lobbying outfit, at a salary of $2 million a year. It's past time to inject some integrity into this scandalous MATTER, SCANDALOUS, equity pleading. A false and malicious statement of facts, not relevant to the cause. But nothing which is positively relevant, however harsh or gross the charge may be, can be considered scandalous. 4 Bouv. Inst. n. 4163. 2. situation. But it isn't going to happen unless voters lobby harder for reforms. |
|
||||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion