Sam Farr: “Well, I think we have to address lobbying reform separately from campaign reform. Lobbying reform is essentially people…”

“Well, I think we have to address lobbying reform separately from campaign reform. Lobbying reform is essentially people who make their living there in Washington, whether it be on the public payroll or the private payroll, trying to convince Members of Congress that their opinion is the right one. I frankly believe that lobbying is good. I do not think that lobbying is bad, because these are complex decisions that we have to make, and, as the gentleman knows, we need to have all the information that we possibly can, both sides, pro and con, and, fortunately, people are supposed to be independent after getting all that knowledge. We know the decisions are complex. A lot of it deals with minutia and the only way we can get a grasp on it is listen to people who have vested interest in it. That does not mean because they come see you that they have our vote. I think if we are to address campaign and lobbying reform, we have to do it, but we have to do it in such a way that it does not cut off getting good information to make a tough decision.”