PERSPECTIVE ON POLITICS : New Congress Shouldn’t Be Bought : Campaign reform is only the start in changing the corrupt way of life that influence-peddlers have made the norm.

The public’s frustration, anger and dissatisfaction have not escaped the notice of this year’s candidates. That’s why presidential candidates and congressional incumbents and challengers of every political stripe have made change the most frequently heard word of this election season.

But if we are to achieve real change, there must be a fundamental change in the way business is being done in the nation’s capital.

The corrupting way of life in Washington is undermining representative government and our ability to solve the nation’s problems. It stems from a basic proposition: People engaged in the business of influencing government decisions provide large amounts of money to benefit the elected officials who are making those decisions--including the President and members of Congress. Meanwhile, these elected officials engage in a never-ending money chase to pay for their campaigns and underwrite their lifestyles.

The huge economic stakes involved in government decisions, the ever-increasing amounts required to run for office and the willingness of people in Washington to treat as acceptable practices that most people see as plainly wrong, have all combined to make influence-seeking money a pervasive force today.

The money comes in myriad ways. It comes in campaign contributions from Washington lobbyists and special-interest political action committees (PACs). It comes in huge “soft money” contributions from wealthy individuals, corporations and unions, laundered through the political parties to evade federal laws.

Influence-seeking money also comes in other guises: travel and vacation reimbursements for members of Congress, tickets to the Super Bowl and Broadway shows and constant wining and dining. Lobbyists give charitable contributions to elected officials’ pet causes and to foundations they control. They host ski trips and golf tournaments for members. In some cases, lobbyists have helped to pay for the education of lawmakers’ children.

And because the rules prohibiting the conversion of campaign contributions to personal use are widely ignored and not enforced, more and more members of Congress are, in effect, living off their special-interest campaign donors. Campaign contributions are used to buy cars, clothes, meals, entertainment, membership dues in private clubs and even to make direct “per diem” payments to members. In one notable case, campaign contributions paid off a member’s gambling debts.

Obviously, not every member of Congress engages in such practices. There are many honorable elected officials and a number of them are working hard to change the system.

Nevertheless, when you add up all the money flowing in Washington from all the influence seekers in all the various ways to benefit elected officials, you end up with a corrupting way of life--and citizens know it. They also know the money matters.

It matters when the health-care industry, which opposes reform, pours $60 million in PAC contributions into congressional campaigns over the past 10 years and no serious consideration is given to health-care reform during this time.

It matters when the savings-and-loan industry provides more than $10 million in campaign contributions during the 1980s, ends up with a controlling voice over regulatory policies and then forces taxpayers to bail it out at an estimated cost of $500 billion--or more than $3,000

per taxpayer.

But where it may matter most is in the impact on the American people and our political system. The influence-money system breeds cynicism and undermines fundamental notions of integrity and fairness. It leads citizens to believe that the system in Washington is rigged and their voices will not be heard.

Yet, as is often the case in our political system, when a problem becomes a crisis, the opportunity for fundamental change occurs. And that’s where we are today.

Earlier this year, Congress passed the first comprehensive campaign finance reform bill in nearly 20 years. President Bush vetoed it, but with more than 100 new members headed for Congress on a mandate for change, the issue will be back with new momentum early next year. And there will be other major reform efforts aimed at curbing private-influence money in Washington.

These reforms must be accompanied by a wholesale change of attitude by our elected officials in Washington. They must realize what the rest of the country has come to understand--that the flow of influence-seeking money in Washington is doing great damage to our political system and our ability to solve national problems.

It’s time for change--real change--in Washington.