US Congress votes to toughen ethics, lobbying rules

WASHINGTON, Aug 3 (Reuters) Legislation to toughen ethics and lobbying rules for US lawmakers received final approval nine months after Democrats won control of the US Congress following scandals mostly involving President George W. Bush's Republicans.

Backed by public advocacy groups, the measure requires greater disclosure of pet projects slipped into spending bills, outlaws pensions to lawmakers convicted of bribery and requires disclosure of campaign donations lobbyists collect for members of Congress.

On a vote of 83-14, the Senate approved the bill, overwhelmingly passed earlier this week by the House of Representatives, and prepared to send it to Bush to sign into law.

''The American people sent Democrats to Congress to clean up the mess,'' said Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid of Nevada yesterday. ''We have heard the call.'' The measure would also prohibit members from attending lobbyist-paid parties in their honor at national political conventions, and ban lobbyists from providing members gifts or travel.

It addition, it would prohibit senators from lobbying Congress for two years after leaving office. House members would have to wait one year.

A number of Senate Republicans, whose party controlled Congress much of the past 12 years, complained the bill did not go far enough. But most of them ended up voting for it.

''Americans were right to be outraged by the scandals that surfaced last year, they're right to hold their lawmakers to the highest standard of conduct, and passing this bill will send a strong and, I think, necessary signal that the Senate has recommitted itself to that trust,'' said Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky.

Passage of the measure came just days after federal agents raided the Alaska home of Sen. Ted Stevens, the longest serving Republican in the Senate in history and former chairman of the powerful Appropriations Committee that doles out federal dollars.

Stevens, 83, is a subject of a grand jury investigation into his links with managers of VECO Corp., the state's largest oil-services company, as well as numerous unrelated fisheries matters. Stevens has denied any wrongdoing. He joined most of his colleagues in voting for the bill passed by the Senate.

VOTER ANGER While the war in Iraq was a major factor in Democrats winning control of the House and Senate in the November 2006 elections, polls showed voter anger at primarily Republican scandals was also a major reason for the change in power.

Republican Reps. Bob Ney of Ohio and Randy ''Duke'' Cunningham of California were convicted of bribery, and Republican lobbyist Jack Abramoff pleaded guilty in an influence-peddling scandal. A number of Republican aides were also snared in these probes.

Another Republican, Rep. Mark Foley of Florida, stepped down after it was disclosed that he sent sexually inappropriate electronic messages to male interns.

But problems were not confined to Republicans. Democratic Rep William Jefferson of Louisiana was indicted on bribery charges this year after 90,000 dollar was found in his freezer. He has pleaded innocent.

A key feature of the sweeping measure is greater disclosure of what has become an explosion of pet projects, known as earmarks, placed in big spending bills.

According to Public Citizen, in fiscal 2005 there were 15,877 earmarks in the federal budget worth 47.4 billion dollar, compared to 4,126 earmarks worth 29.6 billion dollar in fiscal 1994.

The bill requires that all earmarks, along with their sponsors, be identified on the Internet before passage.

REUTERS SAM BST0541