# Congress ethics bill - real change or more of the same?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congress-ethics-bill-real-change-or-more-of-the-same/414931>\
**Category:** Great Debates\
**Created:** [August 8, 2007, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congress-ethics-bill-real-change-or-more-of-the-same/414931 "2007-08-08T22:36:34Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Galena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a87d85/32.png) [@Galena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Galena)\
**Post date:** [August 8, 2007, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congress-ethics-bill-real-change-or-more-of-the-same/414931/1 "2007-08-08T22:36:34Z")

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Both houses of congress have recently passed a new [ethics bill](http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/06/AR2007080601298.html) , and it looks like it’s on its way to the president. The text of the bill can be found [here](http://democrats.senate.gov/journal/s1_sus_xml.pdf) , for those of you who can manage to read these things (warning, pdf!).

The question is: do you think this will actually clean up congress or is it just more fluff to placate us? Can congress really reform itself? Is it enforceable? Does it go far enough?

Personally, I think it’s a good start. It forces members of congress to put their names behind their earmarks and doesn’t allow them to allocate money to projects that they have a financial interest in. It also makes travel on lobbyist dollars more difficult, prohibits gifts to congress members and their staffs, and mandates disclosure of lobbyist generated campaign contributions. (Really?!? This all was legal _before_?!?)

Then there’s the cynical part of me that says, “Well, if they managed to pass it, it must not be any good.” To get it to pass, they of course had to [“water-down”](http://www.suntimes.com/news/huntley/495472,CST-EDT-HUNT03.article) several of its provisions. And really, can we trust them to make a bill that’s “loophole” free?

So, are you optimistic that this could “restore our faith in the government” or are you just waiting to hear what creative methods they’ll use to get around it?

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**Author:** ![LilShieste](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9f8e36/32.png) [@LilShieste](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LilShieste)\
**Post date:** [August 8, 2007, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congress-ethics-bill-real-change-or-more-of-the-same/414931/2 "2007-08-08T23:29:34Z")

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I’m not sure yet what I think about this bill, but I definitely like this part:

> [@](#):
>
> From the **PDF in the OP** :  
> _PUBLIC DATABASE OF REGISTRATION STATEMENTS AND UPDATES.—  
> (1) IN GENERAL.—The Attorney General shall maintain, and make available to the public over the Internet, without a fee or other access charge, in a searchable, sortable, and downloadable manner, to the extent technically practicable, an electronic database that—  
> (A) includes the information contained in registration statements and updates filed under this Act; and  
> (B) is searchable and sortable, at a minimum, by each of the categories of information described in section 2(a)._

It does seem a little too good to be true, though.  
LilShieste