Rep. Katie Porter (D-Calif.) will introduce a package of bills Tuesday intended to help Congress run more efficiently and curb influence-peddling by former members of Congress and government officials, her office told The Hill.
The package of five bills includes legislation to modernize the government’s federal lobbying disclosure database and enact a blanket two-year ban on lobbying by former members of Congress, senior congressional staff and senior executive branch officials.
Other proposals include new absence accommodations and proxy voting in the House chamber and committees, alternating seating during committee hearings to foster bipartisanship and requiring a simple majority threshold for a procedural vote to bring bills to both the House and Senate floor.
“Americans deserve a Congress that works for them — not for special interests or a politician’s personal profit,” said Porter, founder and co-chair of the congressional End Corruption Caucus.
Lobbying is protected speech under the First Amendment, which does not explicitly mention the practice but does guarantee citizens the right to “petition their government.” Federal lobbying spending approached $4.3 billion last year alone, and there were nearly 13,000 registered lobbyists, according to the nonpartisan money-in-politics research nonprofit OpenSecrets.
But watchdogs have long lamented the “revolving door” through which former members and high-ranking officials swing, often lobbying the offices or agencies they used to work for, which includes thousands of former members, congressional staffers and agency officials who have registered to lobby since leaving the public sector.
A survey by the social science research think tank Pew Research Center found there is “widespread dissatisfaction” with the role of money in U.S. politics.
Around 84 percent of Americans believe “special interest groups and lobbyists have too much say in what happens in politics” is a good description of the political system, according to Pew’s survey of 8,480 American adults in July 2023.
And 73 percent said lobbyists and special interest groups have too much influence on members of Congress, a sentiment that spans both Republicans and Democrats.
Porter said her proposals “would help Congress function more efficiently, promote bipartisan cooperation, and reduce the damaging influence of special interest lobbyists in Washington.”
“These bills would strengthen our democracy and go a long way towards restoring Americans’ trust in Congress,” Porter added.
End Citizens United/Let America Vote, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), Public Citizen and Project on Government Oversight (POGO) have all endorsed the package.
“It’s imperative that Congressional policies are updated to ensure our government functions efficiently to address the concerns of the American people and meet the ever-evolving demands of our democracy,” said Tiffany Muller, President of End Citizens United/Let America Vote Action Fund.
“These common-sense reforms will guarantee elected officials are able to work towards good policies, while operating independently of special interests,” she added.