Reid: No Gifts For You
ShareLobbyists: don't even think about giving gifts to members of Sen. Harry Reid's staff.
As of today, per a memo written by Reid's chief of staff, Susan McCue, the minority leader forbids any member of his staff from accepting gifts of any size from lobbyists.
Currently, congressional rules allow two gifts per year to members of values not exceeding $50. As Chris Matthews discovered last week, booze is all-you-can-quaff.
And, for some reason, lobbyists for state colleges don't play by the same rules (because their expense accounts come courtesy of government funds -- which you'd think would make them subject to more onerous requirements. Not so.)
The full text of McCue's memo is below.
All Staff:
This Wed, Jan 18, Sen. Reid will be unveiling an unprecedented set of
reforms in an Honest Leadership Act to be introduced jointly by Senate and House Democrats. The Honest Leadership Act will clean out the corruption and cronyism that have broken the public’s confidence in government, and it will prevent abuses of power in the future
If real reform is going to happen in Washington, Democrats must lead the way. What distinguishes our reform bill is its scope and our commitment to getting it done. To that end, we will walk the talk. Our office will adhere to proposed reforms in the Honest Leadership Act immediately. Every one of you does exemplary work. Team Reid is known for building public trust in government, and we will help fix the parts others have broken.
A key proposal in the Act, known as "The Jack Abramoff Rule", will ban staff and members from receiving gifts, meals and travel from lobbyists. Current office policy follows current Ethics Committee rules allowing gifts and meals under $50 and requiring full disclosure of lobbyist-related travel.
Effective tomorrow, these rules will be changed in our office to reflect the Honest Leadership Act Sen. Reid is introducing. As such, no employee in Sen. Reid's federal offices will be allowed to receive any meals, gifts or travel from lobbyists. Our office policy manual will be updated. As with other office policies, any violation of this rule will be subject to disciplinary action up to termination.
Again, each of you bring honor and pride to Senator Reid, the State of
Nevada and the country. You represent what good government is all about. These changes are an effort to lead by example and bring others along. Kevin Kayes will be hold a staff briefing on the Honest Leadership Act later this week to ensure everyone understands the provisions of the bill and changes from current policy.
Thanks,
Susan
Advertisement
Join the Discussion