Questions raised on party rules

Watchdogs want the House and Senate to start singing from the same ethics song sheet for the 2012 conventions.

Differences between the House’s and Senate’s interpretation of the new ethics rules governing convention parties caused widespread confusion in Denver and St. Paul this year, and watchdog groups have had enough. They are calling on the ethics committees in each chamber to work together to iron out the discrepancies.

{mosads}“We want to clarify and in effect override the House Ethics Committee guidance, which makes absolutely no sense and is contradictory to the rule itself,” said Fred Wertheimer, who heads the watchdog group Democracy 21. “We and other reform groups are going to be looking at what kinds of changes will be appropriate to the ethics rules as we start the new Congress next year.”

The new ethics rules for convention parties were difficult enough to learn on their face, but after the House and Senate ethics committees offered differing guidance, they were downright frustrating for everyone involved, including the lobbyists sponsoring them and the lawmakers and aides trying to figure out whether they could attend.

The House ethics committee has interpreted the new rules to forbid corporate- or special interest-funded parties honoring one member of Congress. But it has green-lighted soirees and receptions that laud more than one member. The Senate Ethics panel completely bars any shindigs honoring members of Congress, whether individually or as a group.

Meanwhile, the Senate committee loosely interpreted a rule allowing lawmakers and staffers to attend an event as long as 25 people who do not work for Congress are there. Some watchdogs contend that this is intended to allow lawmakers and staff to attend policy conferences, not lavish parties featuring pop stars such as Kanye West and Chris Daughtry.

The House, for its part, interpreted this rule for convention parties more strictly than the Senate, throwing such groups as the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) into confusion just days before its convention party. Even though the group already had a letter of approval from the Senate ethics panel, the House refused to sign off on the event unless it charged members and their staffers the going rate for such concerts.

As a result, the RIAA was forced to send an embarrassing e-mail to members and staffers already invited informing them that they would have to pay $90 at the door in Denver if they wanted to come and see West perform.

Senators and their aides had no such requirement.

{mospagebreak}“The contradictory interpretations between the House and the Senate just opened up the whole conventions to chaos and frustration,” said Public Citizen’s Craig Holman.

Holman was watching the convention partying closely to make sure rules were followed. He organized a team of watchdog groups that sent officials to police the nearly 400 lobbyist-funded soirees that took place in Denver and St. Paul.

In some ways, the close scrutiny produced almost immediate results. Holman had planned to file a letter of complaint to the ethics panels over St. Paul’s AgNite party, a million-dollar bash sponsored by Hormel, Land O’ Lakes, Cargill and 50 other food and agriculture companies. It featured two bands, including Styx.

{mosads}Holman contacted the party’s planners, the Minnesota Agri-Growth Council, to complain when he heard about it two weeks ahead of time. He argued that the event didn’t pass the smell test for a widely attended event because it was not really about showcasing Minnesota’s agriculture despite the slideshows and videos playing in the background and huge posters of pigs and turkeys on display.

Much to party-hoppers’ surprise, there was no open bar, a rarity on the convention party circuit. Beer and wine cost $7; mixed drinks, $10.50.

Holman said he still didn’t think Styx should have been playing at the event, but acknowledged that he wasn’t as offended by it once the alcohol wasn’t flowing freely as well.

“To try to dress up a party as an educational forum — some of these groups would hand out brochures or set up posters — just doesn’t cut it,” Holman said.

Wertheimer and Holman also successfully shut down a Denver party sponsored by U.S. Bank and VISA honoring the House Democratic freshmen after objecting that it broke the spirit of the rules barring lobbyist-funded parties honoring members of Congress.

Even though the House ethics committee interpretation of the rule allowed it, Wertheimer sent a letter to all Democratic freshmen warning them against showing up that night. He then sent the letter to the media complete with the time and address of the party.

The watchdogs called on the freshmen to take a stand, especially considering that many of them rode into Congress on campaigns promising to reform the ways of Washington. Not one of them attended, according to media reports.

Late last week, Holman sent every freshman Democrat a thank-you card.

“I want to thank you for respecting the spirit and letter of the new congressional rules as they apply to the nominating conventions,” he wrote.

“…Every single member of the Democratic freshmen class decided that a lobbyist-sponsored event honoring the class was inappropriate and refused to attend,” he continued. “You and the other Democratic freshmen formed the backbone in Congress for passage of the sweeping new lobbying laws and ethics rules last year. It comes as no surprise that you continue to stand by your word.”