Congressional Ethics Lobbying Has Been

Congressional Ethics Lobbying has been used for decades now to try to influence policy decision and policy making. In theory, the process takes into consideration a specific legal framework set rigorously by the legislative branch in any developed country. The U.S. benefits from one of the strongest lobbying regulations in the world. Yet, there are scandals such as Jack Abramoff Indian lobbying scandal which set in question the morality of the lobbying practice and its possible results.

The issue of lobbying has been a wide spread activity especially in the United States due to the fact that political decisions can be influenced by certain interest groups. According to the U.S. Senate, the practice of lobbying implies "trying to persuade legislators to propose, pass, or defeat legislation or to change existing laws.

A lobbyist may work for a group, organization, or industry, and presents information on legislative proposals to support his or her clients' interests" (2007) This is largely due to the traditional idea that decisions must be taken in accordance with the desires and beliefs of all the parties involved and must try to adjust the demands of the groups with the benefits for the society. Nonetheless, the Jack Abramoff case proved that there is increasing work that needs to be done in order to ensure that abuses do not happen.

The K. Street Project is a 1995 Republican initiative which "identifies loyal Republican lobbyists and campaign contributors and then encourages lawmakers to welcome them into their offices to the exclusion of others" (Birnbaum, 2004). More precisely, former Republican officials use their influence to ensure that certain interest groups are represented in the situation of decision makings. The lobbying scandal in which Abramoff was implicated referred to the lobbying practice done for an Indian casino gambling. However, the actual lobbying scheme included a double strategy.

While on the one hand, Abramoff and his partner Ralph Reed pressured certain political figures from the Republican side to act against the interests of the Indian group, on the other hand, Abramoff convinced the foreign group to pay for lobbying assistance in order to change the ruling. Yet another scandal involving Abramoff was related to the island of Marianas, a territory under U.S. jurisdiction which contracted the firm Abramoff was working at in 1995, Preston Gates, to represent their interests in Washington.

Despite the fact that Abramoff agreed to the project, his real actions did not favor the government. Even more, he accepted trips of considerable value in exchange for lobbying activities he did not even conduct in favor of the Island. From this point-of-view, it is clear that the responsible for the crime are also the ones drafting the laws which permit a very loose interpretation of the ethical code of the Congress.

In traditional terms lobbying represents a democratic means of expressing the legitimate interest in a certain affair that is the matter of debate on the legislative forum. Groups of interests and businessmen have the right to support their interests and people with experience in Washington are more indicated to promote their cause. Still, there should be a stricter law of the lobbying activity, in which transparence and fairness should be a prerequisite condition for the activity of lobby.

Ralph Reed is an important figure in the scandal, as he is an influential man in Georgia. According to reports, "His expertise as a campaign strategist is widely credited with helping in the election of Sen. Saxby Chambliss, putting Sonny Perdue in the governor's mansion, and allowing the Republicans to win control of the state senate for the first time since the days of Reconstruction." He even used his organization, the Christian Coalition, to gather party votes and support. Therefore, his influence in Washington was essential for the lobbying scandal.

This comes to prove the fact that the lobbying activity must necessarily be practiced by people with increased influence, an element which plays a vital point in the establishment of a transparent system because most of the time politics do not represent a transparent process but rather a world of compromise and negotiation. Thus, it has often been said that politics is not an ethical affair, nor a moral one. Both the Indian lobbying scandal, as well as.