Can they pass real reform? (05/26/07)

It's too early to celebrate, but there are indications that a couple of serious pieces of reform legislation will actually make their way through Congress this year.

Both the House and the Senate are working on lobbying reform, with the House passing much stricter disclosure rules this week.

The key, particularly with a pair of House bills that won approval, is transparency.

Americans have a right to know how money may be influencing the actions of lawmakers, and the best way to get a handle on that is to have as much information as possible available to the public.

The House bills, which won bipartisan support but which would not have passed without real pressure from the Democratic leadership, improve transparency in two ways.

For starters, one bill will require lobbyists who "bundle" campaign donations before passing them along to candidates to disclose where the money is really coming from. You can't get much more basic than that.

A second measure will require lawmakers to attach their names to "earmarks," spending for special projects that are put into federal spending bills.

The tradition of "earmarks" isn't going to go away, but it will be much easier to monitor if the public knows which congressman is asking for money for which project.

That's a good-government step that conservative Republicans in the Congress have been urging for years.

Again, it's way too early to celebrate. But there's some reason for optimism that things may be getting on the right track. - J.R.[[In-content Ad]]