Nancy Pelosi: “we are about to vote on a rule for a so- called lobbying reform bill that The Washington Post has said ``is simply a…”

“we are about to vote on a rule for a so- called lobbying reform bill that The Washington Post has said ``is simply a joke.'' ``Or more accurately,'' it goes on to say, ``a ruse aimed at convincing what the leaders must believe is a doltish public that the House has done something to clean up Washington.'' A ruse. That is what this is. And to the distinguished Chair of the Rules Committee, if you think that what is being proposed today maintains a high ethical standard for this House, either your standards are too low or you have no interest, no interest, in cleaning up the culture of corruption that the Republicans have in this House of Representatives. This Republican leadership so-called Lobbying Accountability and Transparency Act holds no one accountable and provides little transparency to the activities of lobbyists or anyone else. It is an embarrassingly trivial response to the culture of corruption that has thrived under the Republican Congress. And this corruption has a cost to the American people, as others of my colleagues have said. This corruption has come at great cost to the American people in terms of prices at the pump, a Medicare prescription drug bill that does little to lower the cost of spiraling health drug costs, and waste and fraud in the gulf coast and in Iraq. This bill is a missed opportunity, a missed opportunity.…”