Congressional Schedules And How DeLay Got Away

Suspend you disbelief for a moment.  Envision a Congress where all Senators and Representatives are required to post their daily schedules on the internet, including all meetings with lobbyists and constituents.  What will the public find?  Well, the Sunlight Network believes published schedules may be one of the best ways to red flag our lawmakers when the veer from the path of public service, or better yet, prevent them from doing anything dishonest in the first place.

            When the Sunlight Network first began the Punch Clock Campaign to get members of Congress to publicize their calendars, some of the responses we received were quite surprising.  Many people (citizens and candidates) asked us, “What’s the point?” and “Why is this so important?”  Others, perhaps because of the campaign’s simplicity, did not see that there would be any resistance to the idea from incumbents or staffers on the hill.  We had many voters tell us that they were sure their candidates would have no problem posting their schedules on-line, and yet, when we asked the campaigns the candidates couldn’t, or more likely wouldn’t sign an agreement.

            Consequently, in an effort to answer the ‘why’ questions and prove that the Punch Clock Agreement could facilitate an important change in Congress, we had the idea of making a case study out of the Jack Abramoff scandal involving Texas Representative Tom DeLay.  By following the events that led up to Abramoff’s indictment, it is possible to find moments when – had Congressmen been required to post their schedules – the situation could have been prevented from getting completely out of hand.  The following is a timeline of events starting in 1994 which track Jack Abramoff’s meetings and dealings with Tom DeLay.

1994 – Abramoff is introduced to DeLay at a DC dinner shortly after Republican takeover.

-  Any meeting – dinner or otherwise – with a lobbyist must be reported.  This encounter would have been public knowledge. 

[1995 – Abramoff takes the Northern Mariana Island of Saipan as a client.]-  It is important to note that at the time, Abramoff was touting the Marianas as a perfect example of unrestricted capitalism.  He way lobbying for the defeat of a bill which would have increased labor laws and restrictions.           

December 31, 1996 – Tom DeLay (R-TX) and DeLay’s family go on a trip arranged by Abramoff to Saipan; the trip itself is paid for by the Saipan government.

1997 – DeLay goes on a 6-day trip to Moscow with Ed Buckham, one of his advisors, and four staff members.  The trip is allegedly paid for by a D.C.-based non-profit, but it has also been suggested that a ‘mysterious company registered in the Bahamas also paid for the intensive $440,000 lobbying campaign.’ (Wash. Post) 

            -  This trip would have been reported on-line within 24 hours of its occurrence.                   

            -  During the trip DeLay played golf, met with Russian church leaders, talked to  Prime Minishter Viktor Chernomyrdin, and dined with Russian executives and Abramoff. 

January 1998 – DeLay, family and staffers take trip to the Northern Marianas as part of Abramoff’s lobbying for New Years.

          -  Although was probably construed as ‘vacation time,’ it was taken with staffers , was funded by Abramoff, was for lobbying purposes, and thus would had to have been reported according to the Punch Clock Agreement. 

May 2000 – DeLay goes on a week long trip to England and Scotland (for golf) with wife and two aides.  He and others also take advantage of the many skyboxes Abamoff leases to see sporting and entertainment events in the U.S. at other points during 2000.

2001 – DeLay, his wife and staff take a $106,921 trip to Korea.

June 2003 – Abramoff lobbies DeLay’s office to organize a June 2003 letter that supported the creation of a new gambling bill.

- It would benefit tribes (specifically the Coushatta tribe in Louisiana) in blocking gambling competition by another tribe.  The letter was co-signed by DeLay, House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.), Majority Whip Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) and Deputy Whip Eric I. Cantor (R-Va.).  The intent was to protect the Coushattas’ casino which made about $300 million a year.
-  V. Heather Sibbison, a lobbyist at the time for the Jena Band, said: "I do this for a living, and I have never seen a letter like that before. It was incredibly unusual for that group of people, who do not normally weigh in on Indian issues, to express such a strong opinion about a particular project not in any of their home states."  (http://www.citizensforethics.org/press/pressclip.php?view=183)

            So, you ask, what is the point of the Punch Clock Campaign?  The answer should be clear now.  Jack Abramoff’s corrupt influence over Congressmen like Rep. Tom DeLay could have been noticed earlier, or perhaps even more optimistically, may never have been possible.  Requiring Members of Congress post their schedules on-line will allow the public to track their representatives’ work – good or bad – and will engage citizens in politics like never before.  It is entirely possible that active citizens would have noticed DeLay’s trips and meeting as the special-interest nonsense that they really were. 

The Sunlight Network is trying to fundamentally change the relationship between constituents and their representatives, and on-line congressional schedules are one of the first steps in that process.  It requires a major change in the psyche of both Congress and the public, but if nothing else, the Abramoff scandal implicating Representative DeLay shows that just such a change is necessary.  Transparency is the essential ingredient to a more honest and productive government.  In this situation, sunlight truly is the best disinfectant.