I am in full support of transparency in lobbying and the need to address the perception among some members of the public that public officials are unduly influenced by special interests. But it needs to be done in a way that is in line with the U.S. Constitution. Although this bill may be a good faith effort, its provisions appear to be in violation of the First Amendment rights to freedom of speech and the right to petition the government. As such, it would be struck down.

In my view, these reform efforts fuel the inaccurate perception that lobbyists somehow drive the conversation in Washington. The truth is that Members of Congress make decisions on issues based on what is right for the interests of their constituents. Period. Members are accountable at every election to the voters of their state or district – I can assure you that it is the voters they care about. Anyone who has run as a candidate in a political contest knows this very well. The American people hold you accountable for your positions. To suggest that a Member of Congress would make a deci

As a member of a profession that is already subject to a high degree of disclosure, I support the concept of greater transparency for campaign financing. Senator Schumer and Representatives Castle and Van Hollen should be saluted for taking the initiative to introduce legislation that seeks to increase transparency. Each of us can debate the pros and cons of the details of this upcoming bill and it is appropriate to take the time to find the legislative balance between requiring disclosure while not putting an undue burden on American entities seeking to exercise their constitutional right to free speech. My own view is that we need to think bigger. I’ve have been a longtime advocate for public financing of campaigns. The more that we can remove the perception that politics is “pay for play” the better. The Citizens United decision only makes this atmosphere worse. Rather than welcoming this opening of the campaign-finance floodgates, it places even more of a burden on the political system and will further advance the pu

I am truly saddened by the level of discourse we are seeing after the House vote and the President’s signing ceremony this week. However, leaders of both parties should be applauded for coming together and publicly denouncing these awful threats from all sides of the political spectrum. Democrats and Republicans quickly recognized that we could not move forward on the people’s business with this tremendous cloud hovering over Washington.

I believe hard working Americans understand that the back and forth of the legislative process is a healthy part of our Democracy, but not the threats or acts of violence from fringe elements. Democrats were right to move the healthcare reform package when Republicans continued to delay, delay, delay.

As I noted last week, now is the time for Democrats to demonstrate their commitment to the Middle Class by putting the issues that affect Main Street instead of Wall Street at the top of the priority list for the remainder of this Congress. Putting Americans back to work is critical for the econ

For Democrats to successfully keep the Majority, they must demonstrate over the next several months that they are aggressively reinvesting in the Party’s working class roots. In the short time since the last election, many Americans have lost faith in our Party as we have seemingly paved an easier road for Wall Street than Main Street. Rightly or wrongly, many are beginning to believe that while working class families have lost their homes along with their dignity, Washington has been taking care of those fortunate enough to pull in million-dollar bonuses on the tax payers dime.

Democrats can quickly change this perception by first, passing healthcare reform. We are spinning our wheels the more time we attempt to secure the illusive bipartisanship with an opposition that refuses to accept the principle that all Americans should have access to affordable healthcare. Healthcare reform should be off the table and signed by the President so that we can get on with other priorities that help strengthen our Middle Class.

Next on the list, a substantial jobs package

Even after a number of efforts over many years, our system still needs reform. But the issues of whether a lobbyist can pay for dinner, host a party or bundle campaign contributions are distractions from the greater issue of money in politics. Take a look at the top 100 donors to each party, you will only find a handful of lobbyists and that’s not until you get out of the top 50. The issue is not who is giving the money, so instead of trying to limit the Constitutional rights of someone just because he or she is an experienced professional who happens to be a registered lobbyist, we need to step back and really get to the heart of the problem.

As I noted last week, public financing of our federal elections will go a long way to clearing the air in Washington. And according to a recent survey by Americans for Campaign Reform, voters are ready for this change and I would safely bet so are my former colleagues.

The national survey found every major demographic

Registered lobbyists are already subject to very aggressive disclosure requirements. Our efforts are fully transparent. Public relations firms, grasstops firms, new media firms, political ad makers, attorneys, corporate CEOs and others have a role in trying to shape public policy, but are not subject to the same disclosures that those of us registered lobbyists must make.

In addition, too many in Washington are skirting the edges of new rules by the White House and reform measures put in place earlier by Congress—working to ensure that their efforts fall just shy of triggering a reporting requirement.

Our system continues to fail the public smell test because the current disclosure structure leaves too many advocates operating outside it.

As I mentioned last week, the solution is pretty simple, additional disclosure requirements are needed so that the public has a complete look at all levels of advocacy.

But even with broader disclosure require

There are perhaps no terms more widely used, nor more poorly understood in Washington than “special interest” and “lobbyist.”

Almost all “special interests” have lobbyists. Fortune 500 companies and small town teachers, policemen and firefighters have lobbyists. Doctors, lawyers, and shift workers from most manufacturing plants have lobbyists. For that matter, even the federal government has lobbyists, every agency has one and the White House does too.

And keep in mind, one person’s “just cause” is another person’s “special interest.” The role of government decision makers is to balance the widely varied interests of people from differing backgrounds and make decisions in the best interest of their communities, states and the country.

To the extent lobbyists can provide information that helps those decision makers make wise decisions and prevent unintended consequences, they provide a useful service to their clients, and to the country.

No doubt, there have been occasions