Scribbles ............................... 04 June 2007

BARACK OBAMA AND ETHICS BILL AND INDIA

Barrack  Obama  has  introduced the ethics bill that

 

Bars senators from accepting gifts and meals from lobbyists. [ In India  there is a free for all for lobbyists  and politicans. To think of a member of Parliament was involved in human traficking ]

• Requires advanced ethics committee approval of transportation or lodging provided by a private party. The party must certify that a lobbyist did not finance the trip. [ free for all in India ]

 

• Requires senators or staff traveling by private aircraft to report to the Secretary of the Senate the trip's purpose and those on board.[free for all in India]

 

• Bans official contacts between a senator's staff and the senator's spouse or immediate family member registered as a lobbyist. [ no such refinement ]

 

• Requires mandatory ethics training. [ there are no training courses ]

 

• Extends from one year to two years the period a congressman must wait before lobbying a former place of employment. [ there are laws to this effect for government employees] 

 

• Extends disclosure requirements to lobbyists helping clients to encourage the general public to contact federal officials. [no such provision . ]

 

• Bars senators from punishing or rewarding a lobbying firm based on the party affiliations of those they hire.

 

• Requires filing disclosure reports quarterly, not semiannually. [ filing disclosures by MPs  will be welcome]

• Requires lobbyists to annually disclose contributions to federal candidates, officeholders and political action committees.  [ the political parties must disclose fund collections ]

 

• Increases the maximum civil fine for lobbying violations from $50,000 to $100,000. [ cash fines can be effective ]

 

• Ends the practice of secret "holds," whereby senators can single-handedly block action on a bill without revealing that they are the source of the hold.

 

THE BILL DOESN'T:

 

• Ban privately financed travel.

 

• Require reimbursement at the charter rate for flights on corporate jets.

 

• Create an independent panel to police ethics.

 

 

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