Anti-Lobbying Bill Exempts President

Congress bowed to a Bush Administration request last week and excluded the President from newly passed legislation to toughen lobbying restrictions against former government officials, both sides said Monday.

White House spokesman Stephen Hart said the Administration sought the exclusion because the bill could have prevented “a current President from consulting with a past President,” a meeting that would be “in the national interest.”

The tougher anti-lobbying language, which applied the first-ever lobbying restrictions on former members of Congress, was part of the legislation that raised pay for lawmakers, top executive branch officials and federal judges. The bill was sent to the President early Saturday.

Rep Barney Frank (D-Mass.), the prime author of lobbying restrictions in the House, said he reluctantly accepted the President’s request when the bill reached the House because: “We couldn’t negotiate everything.”

A House source, speaking on condition of anonymity, complained that it was the White House that had been pressing to make sure all three branches of government were covered by ethics laws.

Hart said that there has never been an example of a past President lobbying the government and that “the notion that it would occur is somewhat demeaning to the presidency.”

He noted that ex-vice presidents are covered and said that they should be because many go into private business.