Barrack Obama has introduced the ethics bill that
Bars senators from accepting gifts and meals from lobbyists. [ In India there is a free for all for lobbyists and politicans. To think of a member of Parliament was involved in human traficking ]
- Requires advanced ethics committee approval of transportation or lodging provided by a private party. The party must certify that a lobbyist did not finance the trip. [ free for all in India ]
- Requires senators or staff traveling by private aircraft to report to the Secretary of the Senate the trip’s purpose and those on board.[free for all in India]
- Bans official contacts between a senator’s staff and the senator’s spouse or immediate family member registered as a lobbyist. [ no such refinement ]
- Requires mandatory ethics training. [ there are no training courses ]
- Extends from one year to two years the period a congressman must wait before lobbying a former place of employment. [ there are laws to this effect for government employees]
- Extends disclosure requirements to lobbyists helping clients to encourage the general public to contact federal officials. [no such provision . ]
- Bars senators from punishing or rewarding a lobbying firm based on the party affiliations of those they hire.
- Requires filing disclosure reports quarterly, not semiannually. [ filing disclosures by MPs will be welcome]
- Requires lobbyists to annually disclose contributions to federal candidates, officeholders and political action committees. [ the political parties must disclose fund collections ]
- Increases the maximum civil fine for lobbying violations from $50,000 to $100,000. [ cash fines can be effective ]
- Ends the practice of secret “holds,” whereby senators can single-handedly block action on a bill without revealing that they are the source of the hold.
THE BILL DOESN’T:
- Ban privately financed travel.
- Require reimbursement at the charter rate for flights on corporate jets.
- Create an independent panel to police ethics.