Gutknecht in Chicago Sun Times

01/12/2006

Lawmakers too dependent on lobbyists January 12, 2006

BY LYNN SWEET
CHICAGO SUN-TIMES COLUMNIST

Former Rep. Michael Flanagan (R-Ill.) is a Washington lobbyist. He raises money from other lobbyists for congressional candidates he wants to help. When we talked on Wednesday, he was in the midst of planning fund-raisers for Rep. Gil Gutknecht (R-Minn.) and state Sen. Peter Roskam (R-Wheaton), who is running to fill the seat being vacated by Rep. Henry Hyde (R-Ill.).

Flanagan—who runs a modest lobbying shop—is also on the receiving end. His fax machine and e-mail receive a constant stream of solicitations for donations from members of Congress. That’s true for almost every lobbyist in town, no matter Republican or Democrat.

“The fund-raising industry in this town is massive,” said Flanagan, who served one term [elected in 1994] sandwiched between former Rep. Dan Rostenkowski (D-Ill.) and former Rep. Rod Blagojevich (D-Ill.), now the governor.

GOP House leadership rushed back to Washington this week to quickly develop new lobbying rules in the wake of Jack Abramoff’s guilty plea to mail fraud, tax evasion and conspiracy charges. As part of the plea deal, lobbyist Abramoff must cooperate with prosecutors. More lawmakers or Capitol Hill staffers could be dragged into the scandal, which threatens the GOP holding on to its majority in the November mid-term elections.

Over the weekend, Rep. Tom DeLay (R-Texas) decided not to try to reclaim the House majority leader post he temporarily gave up after being indicted on Texas campaign money-laundering charges. DeLay is an Abramoff friend and the schemes Abramoff pleaded guilty to could implicate people with connections to DeLay. Abramoff stepped well beyond the line. Everything he did—bribes, duping clients and law partners, wining and dining lawmakers and staffers, and arranging lavish trips bankrolled by phony nonprofit groups—is already illegal.

So why the sudden rush to write new rules? The Abramoff scandal is highlighting the symbiotic relationships between lawmakers and lobbyists. Lawmakers are just too dependent on lobbyists for raising campaign cash. Abramoff triggered a need to rethink whether lawmakers should be allowed to take privately funded trips and any gifts, even of small value; the lack of an effective compliance system to make sure existing laws are obeyed; the breakdown of the House ethics committee; and inadequate disclosure requirements.

If Flanagan was not nice enough to tell me, there would be no official document filed any place that would indicate he was organizing fund-raisers for Gutknecht—a 1994 “classmate”—or Roskam. Federal disclosure reports call only for listing direct donations or in-kind contributions.

The Gutknecht event will be in Chicago later this month, with the Chicago Mercantile Exchange probably partnering with Flanagan. Some wealthy traders, who are interested in the agriculture business, are helping. Gutknecht is a member of the House Agriculture Committee. Flanagan has an assistant in his office “going through lobbying lists” to work up names for invitations.

The Jan. 25 Roskam event in Washington developed after Flanagan got a call from Roskam’s campaign manager, Ryan McLaughlin. “He called me and asked me for my help early in the cycle,” Flanagan said. Flanagan was receptive because Hyde endorsed Roskam, and Flanagan—who served on the Judiciary Committee with Hyde—felt a sense of personal loyalty.

“I generally do it because my clients want to say thank you ... or they are personal friends of mine and I want to help,” he said.

Until the Abramoff plea, pending ethics, lobbying and campaign finance reform legislation authored by members of both parties was buried by GOP leaders.

House Republicans, new converts to the cause, will have their package out in a few weeks—a ban on private travel is on the table—and House and Senate Democrats will roll out their unified legislation on or about Jan. 18.

Because of Abramoff, the November elections and the GOP leadership race to fill DeLay’s spot, reformers have some leverage.

Common Cause President Chellie Pingree said more than a travel ban is needed. Said Pingree, “I don’t want anyone to walk away with just window dressing.”