Our organizations
condemn the action being taken by Senator Jim DeMint (S.C.) to block the Senate
from going to conference on lobbying and ethics reform legislation, which the
Senate passed in January.
The
organizations include the Campaign Legal Center,
Common Cause, Democracy 21, the League of Women Voters, Public Citizen and U.S.
PIRG.
Regardless of his
stated motives, the reality is that Senator DeMint’s
actions blocking the reform legislation are enabling corrupting practices to
continue in Congress that are addressed by this landmark reform legislation.
Senator
DeMint is irresponsibly holding the Senate and the nation hostage by blocking
essential legislation to help address the worst corruption scandals in Congress
in thirty years.
Senator
DeMint has expressed concerns that the new earmark rules for the Senate, which
are part of the reform legislation, have not yet been enacted. Yet, it is
Senator DeMint who is now blocking these earmark rules from being enacted by
blocking the Senate from going to conference and passing the legislation which
contains the earmark rules.
If
Senator DeMint insists on continuing to block these critically important
government integrity reforms, we strongly urge Senate Republican Leader
McConnell to join with Senate Majority Leader Reid in offering and supporting
the cloture motions needed to get the lobbying and ethics reform bill to
conference.
