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| Senate exit: Sen. Trent Lott (R) of Mississippi said Monday he would resign his post before January. Alex Brandon/AP |
With Lott's exit, fresh buzz over lobby rules
The senator's announcement that he'll soon leave office triggers new complaints about the 'revolving door' to K Street lobbyists.
By Gail Russell Chaddock | Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitorfrom the November 28, 2007 edition
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Sen. Trent Lott's surprise resignation this week set off a leadership shuffle in Senate GOP ranks – and talk that the No. 2 Republican is cashing in his 35 years on Capitol Hill for a K Street lobby shop.
It's rare for a US senator to resign during a term of office for reasons other than health, scandal, or quest for higher public office. It's happened only twice since World War II.
Moreover, Senator Lott's resignation takes effect just before a new ethics law kicks in that will extend the "cooling off" period – from one year to two – before an ex-lawmaker can lobby former colleagues.
Asked whether the new law had a role in his decision to step down, Lott said "it didn't have a big role in that decision."
Even under the terms of the new law, Lott explained, it remains possible for former members to use their expertise on K Street soon after leaving office. "As I've talked to my former colleagues, they say that a lot of what you do anyway is involved with consulting rather than direct lobbying," he added at a press briefing Monday in his hometown of Pascagoula, Miss.
A worrisome interpretation
That understanding of the new law worries public-interest groups working to slow down the "revolving door" between Congress and K Street lobbying firms.
"The question is, whose interests are they representing: the people who elected them or the employer who will be signing their paycheck in a couple of months," says Bill Allison, a senior fellow at the Sunlight Foundation in Washington.
"We tried to come up with disclosure requirements and a cooling-off period to make things more ethical, but if you're going to go around the rules, there's nothing we can do at this point."
Former Rep. Billy Tauzin (R) of Louisiana set off a firestorm when he resigned the chairmanship of the House Energy and Commerce Committee and retired from the House to accept a job as head of the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA). While still serving in the House, Mr. Tauzin was a key player in negotiating terms of the 2003 Medicare prescription-drug law, which included protections for the drug industry. The new lobbying law aimed to make it harder for lawmakers to make such a move in the future.
'Consulting' versus 'lobbying'
The prospect that Lott or any other lawmaker would be "consulting" with clients, as opposed to "lobbying" to influence legislation on Capitol Hill, is a distinction without much of a difference, critics say.
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