Chip Taylor

Symbol vs. substance

From the Washington Post:

...many people cheered when, out of the blue, the House of Representatives decided to make lobbyists file disclosure reports electronically. Do-gooders dreamed of greater access to information about Washington's secret society. And high-priced advocates looked forward to finding out faster what their competitors were charging.

Sounds good. Almost too good to be true...

But none of that has come to pass. In fact, this seemingly sensible and long-overdue reform has sparked one of the nastiest and most counterproductive mess-ups on K Street.

In late June, Rep. Robert W. Ney (R-Ohio) -- lately best known as a friend of embattled lobbyist Jack Abramoff -- directed the clerk of the House to require all lobbyists to file disclosures over the Internet.

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Ney assured his fellow lawmakers in a letter that House staffers would be able to process lobbying reports more efficiently if they were filed online. A spokesman for Ney added that the system would allow for "more accountability" by lobbyists to the public.

Lobbyists don't see things the same way. The new process looks like it will make filing more cumbersome, complicated and expensive. The public won't get more information than it has already and, possibly, could get even less.

The Senate posts its lobbying reports -- some filed electronically but most handed in on paper and then scanned into an Internet-ready format -- for all the world to see under the "legislation and records" section at http://www.senate.gov . Researchers are able to peruse the site to gain real insight and knowledge. The House, in contrast, makes reading its documents as difficult as possible. House-deposited reports are not posted on the Internet. To read them, a person must find his way to the basement of the Cannon House Office Building and wrestle with computer terminals there that offer limited search capabilities.

And here's the clincher: Even though the House will require filing over the Internet, it has no plans to put the records online. Its habit of keeping its door largely closed to public inspections will remain entirely unchanged.

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