WASHINGTON WATCH : Lobby Lizards

Those pushy Washington lobbyists are at it again. This time they are going after the best seat in the House--and the Senate.

Paid lobbyists covet seats at key congressional hearings, where they hope to wield their often excessive influence before bills are written. There are perhaps 75 seats for members of the public, including lobbyists. Some hearings end up with many people standing.

To guarantee that they have a seat, influence peddlers are stuffing the pockets of students and others, who earn $10 an hour by standing in line. (In addition, the bosses of these stand-ins must be paid more than $20 an hour in some cases.) This practice, though legal, leaves the rest of the public out in the cold.

Last week, for example, the non-lobbyist public was shut out at a hearing on telecommunications laws before the House Commerce Committee. Some enterprising young people had stood in line all night. The long wait--up to 40 hours--drove the price of a seat to more than $1,000.

The all-nighters are prompted by competition between the commercial services that provide the stand-ins. Even lobbyists accustomed to buying access in Washington are griping about having to pay up to $32 an hour. However, often these big spenders simply write off the fees on their tax returns as a cost of doing business. So taxpayers get billed twice.

Denying the public access to public hearings in public buildings is unfair. Citizens should not have to go to the back of the line. Good government requires public scrutiny. There ought to be a law.