Ron Klein: “Another big issue that many of us ran on was ethics reform and lobbying reform and the whole notion of this connection…”

“Another big issue that many of us ran on was ethics reform and lobbying reform and the whole notion of this connection between lobbyists and legislators and Members of Congress. I know in Florida before I left Florida, and I was in the Florida Legislature for a number of years, we passed a law that said you can't take a cup of coffee. It used to be fancy meals, fancy trips and wine. You know something? The average person and most of us who ran said that was not necessary. It creates an impression that there is this unholy connection between a lobbyist and a Member of Congress. Of course, we also know that many people who give us information are lobbyists, too, but they come in the unpaid variety. One of my teachers talked to me about No Child Left Behind. That's a lobbyist as well. We're talking about the paid ones. I'm very proud that this Congress, this House, in the earliest going, one of the first packages we passed out of this chamber was to change the rules that this House governs itself by, and the freshmen of this class, of course, once again took the lead because we felt we were the closest ones, having heard the most from the public that we said no more cups of coffee, no more fancy meals, none of that. You know something? It works just fine. I think all of us can buy our own cup of coffee.”