Editorial: Lobbyist reports in shambles

Wednesday, Jan. 18, 2006 | 8:14 a.m.

There might as well be no law at all in place for governing the interaction among lobbyists and members of Congress. Motivated by the Jack Abramoff scandal, reporters at The Boston Globe investigated the existing law and discovered that loopholes, violations and lack of enforcement are the norm.

When Democrats proposed a stricter law in 1995, they envisioned detailed lobbying reports and strong enforcement of them by an independent body. A Republican-led filibuster, however, quashed that idea in favor of having lobbyists file reporting forms with a congressional records office whose auditing power is next to nothing.

Periodic reports are required so the public can review them. If they are filled out properly, interested voters could then be in the know about which lobbyists their representatives are meeting with, which proposed laws and regulations are being discussed and the extent to which money and gifts are playing a role.

What the Globe discovered, however, is that the required reports have become so vague that almost no useful information can be gleaned. Lobbyists are not revealing whom they met with, nor are they even relating the laws and regulations that were under discussion. And regarding money, a sum total of all their spending for the reporting period is all that is listed -- uselessly rounded to the nearest $20,000.

The Globe found very little enforcement of the requirements to file more complete forms and meet reporting deadlines.

We have previously called for an end to all privately funded travel by members of Congress, a privilege that the Abramoff scandal has proven ripe for abuse. We also believe Congress should put an end to shabby lobbyist reports by establishing a strict enforcement procedure as originally proposed a decade ago.