Other short titles |
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Long title | An Act to provide greater transparency in the legislative process. |
Acronyms (colloquial) | HLOGA |
Enacted by | the 110th United States Congress |
Effective | September 14, 2007 |
Citations | |
Public law | 110-81 |
Statutes at Large | 121 Stat. 735 |
Codification | |
Titles amended | 2 U.S.C.: Congress |
U.S.C. sections amended | 2 U.S.C. ch. 26 § 1601 et seq. |
Legislative history | |
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U.S. Senator from Maine | ||
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U.S. Senator from Kentucky
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The Honest Leadership and Open Government Act of 2007 (Pub.L. 110–81 (text) (PDF) , 121 Stat. 735 , enacted September 14, 2007) is a law of the United States federal government that amended parts of the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995. It strengthens public disclosure requirements concerning lobbying activity and funding, places more restrictions on gifts for members of Congress and their staff, and provides for mandatory disclosure of earmarks in expenditure bills. The bill was signed into law by President George W. Bush on September 14, 2007. [1]
Main Sponsor: Sen Reid, Harry M.
Co-sponsors:
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Closing the revolving door
Ending the "K Street Project"
Prohibiting gifts by lobbyists
Full public disclosure of lobbying activity
New transparency for lobbyist political donations, bundling and other financial contributions
Congressional pension accountability
Prohibited use of private aircraft
Toughening penalties for falsifying financial disclosure forms
Disclosure by Members and staff of employment negotiations
Requires senior staff to notify the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct within three days if they engage in negotiations or agreements for future employment or compensation.
Requires that Members prohibit their staff from having any lobbying contact with the Member's spouse if such individual is a registered lobbyist or is employed or retained by a registered lobbyist to influence legislation.
Posting of travel and financial disclosure reports on the Internet
Participation in lobbyist-sponsored events during political conventions
Procedural reform
Congressionally directed spending reform
Post-employment restrictions
Disclosure by senators and staff of employment negotiations
Elimination of floor, parking and gym privileges for former Members who become lobbyists
Influencing hiring decisions (K Street Project)
Ban on gifts from lobbyists and entities that hire lobbyists
National party conventions
Restrictions on lobbyist participation in travel
Attendance at constituent events
Senate privately paid travel public website
Lobbying contact with spouses or immediate family members who are registered lobbyists
Prohibits senators' immediate family members who are registered lobbyists from engaging in lobbying contacts with their family member's staff.
Mandatory Senate ethics training for members and staff
Annual reports on ethics enforcement
In April 2014, the Sunlight Foundation opined that the HLOGA of 2007 drove lobbyists underground. [2] In January 2015, a report by the Sunlight Foundation and OpenSecrets found that of 104 former congressional members and staffers whose "cooling off" period ended during the first session of the 114th Congress which opened January 6, 2015, 29 were already in government relations, "public affairs," or serve as counsel at a firm that lobbies, and 13 of those are even registered as lobbyists. [3]
Both 2008 presidential candidates Barack Obama and John McCain offered amendments to the act, although neither were official cosponsors of the final act. The bill passed easily by an 83–14 margin, with Obama voting for and McCain voting against. [4]
John Eric Ensign is an American veterinarian and former politician from Nevada. A member of the Republican Party, Ensign was a Congressman and United States Senator from Nevada; he served in the latter seat from January 2001 until May 2011, when he resigned amid a Senate Ethics Committee investigation into his attempts to hide an extramarital affair. Following his resignation from the Senate, Ensign returned to Nevada and resumed his career as a veterinarian.
Wayne Edward Whitfield is an American politician and attorney who served as the U.S. representative of Kentucky's 1st congressional district from January 1995, until his resignation in September 2016. He is a member of the Republican Party, and the first to represent the district. The district covers much of the western part of the state, including Hopkinsville, Paducah, Henderson and Kentucky's share of Fort Campbell.
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