Can This Elephant Be Cleaned Up?

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House leaders, eager to burnish their image and expecting more ethics horror stories to emerge, are working with Republican Senator John McCain of Arizona on proposals to reform lobbying (see box). There is talk of lowering the limit, now $50, on the value of a single gift that a lobbyist can give a lawmaker or aide, provoking jokes about a $49.50 party to cash in before any change takes effect. Hastert is considering supporting a ban on junkets for members and aides that are financed by outside groups and restricting travel to government-paid trips. An aide involved in the negotiations, skeptical that any meaningful change will result, calls the proposals "a Band-Aid on a gunshot wound."

Congressional Democrats plan to launch a major attack on Republican ethics this week, with party leaders assembling 100 Democrats from the House and Senate, along with Democratic mayors and Governors, at the Library of Congress to unveil reform legislation intended to set the tone for the election year. The plan calls for a prohibition on gifts, including meals, entertainment and travel, from lobbyists and special interests. Democrats also say they would shut down what they call "pay-to-play schemes," such as DeLay's "K Street Project," which encourages companies and lobbying firms to hire Republicans to improve their access to lawmakers. Even Boehner said in a statement last week, "If I am elected majority leader, there will no longer be a K Street Project or anything like it."

The House Republicans at the same time are eager to get out a message that could be summed up as "We don't know Jack." Members are rushing to disavow any connection to Abramoff or stressing to reporters how little they knew him, and donating money he gave them to charity. When Hastert announced his plans for lobbying reform, Boehner initially suggested that no new rules were needed but quickly reversed course as members of Congress emphasized that he would have to support the reforms to get their votes in the leadership race. Both Boehner and Blunt are getting lots of questions from members about their exact connections to Abramoff and other lobbyists, underscoring that they don't want to be embarrassed by their new leader having a legal or ethical problem.

Trying to get the vote of one member, Blunt said, "I like to go golfing, but I pay for it myself every single time," a reference to Abramoff-orchestrated trips DeLay and other lawmakers have taken that have landed them in trouble. Boehner has done the same. "I told John I had two questions," says LaHood, who is backing Boehner. "Are there going to be any Abramoff scandals or corruption? He told me he had never met Abramoff. And then second, Would Boehner support lobbying and ethics reform? And he said, 'Absolutely.'"