On the recordFebruary 1, 2012
I support the intent of the amendment offered by the Senator from Alabama. I think he is right, we need parity, as much as possible, in the disclosure requirements. I also believe he is correct the disclosure reports should be online so they are easily accessible. So the intent of his amendment is one I wholeheartedly support. As Senator Lieberman does, I have some questions about the universe of Federal employees who would be covered by the amendment of the Senator from Alabama. We have been working successfully with the Senator from Kentucky, who first brought up this issue of parity, to make sure the scope of coverage is appropriate. It seems to me one way to solve these issues is to use a similar scope as we have agreed on with Senator Paul in the amendment that Senator Shelby has brought forth. We would then have a certain consistency that we had vetted the universe of Federal employees that should be covered. That seems to me to be a very appropriate and relatively easy fix to this issue. I do want to emphasize that I agree with Senator Shelby that those Federal employees should be required to file in the same timeframes as Members of Congress and their staffs, and that certainly those reports should be accessible online. Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll. The assistant bill clerk proceeded to call the roll.
