House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) shrugged off the president’s decree in the State of the Union address that Congress should publish its meetings with lobbyists online, saying to The Hill reporters “I think he feigns perfection without having yet achieved it,” referring to reports that Executive Branch officials meet with lobbyists outside of the White House to avoid disclosure of their own such meetings.
Issa, like much of the Republican majority in the House, believes that the president should reign in his attempts to control Congress, citing the recent election as a message that the American people do not share Obama’s views.
House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) also seemed to side with lobbyists, referencing the Constitutional right of citizens to seek redress.
“I’m for transparency. I want to have more of it,” Issa says. “At the same time, if you send me a letter, that letter should not automatically be public. You have an expectation that you can address your member of Congress, and you can do so with a degree of confidentiality. It happens every day. It needs to happen every day.”
ALL president Howard Marlowe is not opposed to the policy, assuming records regarding meetings with all visitors are published. “I don’t see why lobbyists who are registered should be singled out,” he said. “If they want to do it for every advocate, I see no problem with it.”
Tags: American League of Lobbyists, Congressional transparency, darrell issa, eric cantor, government transparency, howard marlowe, Obama mandate, oversight & government reform committee
