WASHINGTON, July 27 Congressional Democrats have tentatively agreed on a plan to overhaul lobbying rules, but some obstacles to reform remain, The New York Times reported.
The proposal would require members of Congress to identify lobbyists who aggregate multiple donations and turn them over to candidates in a process called bundling. That provision would be a central element of the overhaul, which was motivated in large part by a series of scandals involving lobbyist Jack Abramoff scandal and several members of Congress.
Democrats intend to push for legislative approval of the next week, the newspaper said.
"This rewrites the rules as it relates to lobbyists and their influence on Washington," said Rep. Rahm Emanuel, D-Ill., chairman of the Democratic Caucus.
Democrats won control of the Senate and House in 2006, campaigning largely against what they depicted as a "culture of corruption" under Republicans.
Rank and file Democrats had not seen the details of the overhaul, the Times said. Republican leaders said Friday they did not know the details, but Senate Minority leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said this week Republicans were inclined to support the measure, the newspaper said.
Copyright 2007 by UPI
