USA Today: Lessons For Congress From Jack Abramoff

Conducting interviews on this topic is the author of Capitol Punishment: The Hard Truth About Washington Corruption From America's Most Notorious Lobbyist, Jack Abramoff.

Author Profile and Information: http://wndbooks.wnd.com/capitol-punishment-2/#

USA Today

To improve cybersecurity, corporations have been known to hire computer hackers. And to open doors, locksmiths have been known to employ reformed burglars.

So perhaps it's not surprising that some useful advice on how to clean up Washington is coming from none other than Jack Abramoff.

Abramoff, you might recall, is the lobbyist who took Washington corruption to new heights before pleading guilty in 2006 to mail fraud and conspiracy charges. Now out of prison - and no longer flying congressmen to golf outings in a private jet, or handing out $1 million per year in prime sports tickets and concerts - Abramoff has occupied himself by keeping the books for a pizzeria and peddling a new book.

As disreputable as the messenger is, his message - that too little has changed since he ruled the roost on Capitol Hill- is well worth hearing. Despite a 2007 ethics law that was a result of Abramoff's abuses, lobbyists still have many ways to ingratiate themselves with members of Congress and procure tax breaks, government contracts or other favors. And lawmakers and their aides still have ways to enrich themselves, during and after their public service. Among them:

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*Revolving door. The 2007 law did almost nothing to thwart one of Abramoff's most appalling tricks, which was to woo people in power by offering them lucrative lobbying jobs whenever they wanted to leave public service. In an interview with 60 Minutes this month, Abramoff said that once he dangled a job, not only did he get what he wanted, but congressional offices would call him to suggest additional favors they could do.

Under current law, House members and senior staffers must wait one year after leaving their jobs on Capitol Hill before they can lobby their former colleagues. That was not changed in the 2007 law. For senators and their staffers, the "cooling-off" period was increased from one to two years.

Neither of these prohibitions seems sufficiently long, and neither has sufficient teeth. In both cases, the ban is only on making personal contact with key people on Capitol Hill, so a former member or staffer can instantly take a senior position at a lobbying firm or trade association where he or she directs strategy.

*Travel loophole. Another goal of the 2007 law - to ban posh junkets such as the ones Abramoff paid for in his lobbying days - is already being circumvented. Just this summer, a lobbying organization that promotes Israeli interests sent 81 members and their spouses on a week-long trip there. As of Sept. 30, lawmakers had taken 451 lobbyist-funded trips in 2011, according to a USA TODAY report earlier this month. That's a 75% increase over the same period last year.

The latest ruse of choice is for special interest groups to set up shell organizations chartered as 501(c)(3) charitable groups. These groups can send members and their families on pure vacations, or lightly-working vacations, even if their only purpose is to send powerful people to swell places on behalf of people with an interest in getting favors from Congress. The travel ban needs to be tightened.

*Insider trading. Abramoff said he knows of as many as a dozen members of Congress and their aides who bought and sol