Frank Lautenberg: “this is not the first time we have changed the way Congress does business. Daniel Webster, whose love of the Union and…”

“this is not the first time we have changed the way Congress does business. Daniel Webster, whose love of the Union and service to the Senate has made him one of the towering figures of our history, routinely accepted payments from companies whose interests he would then champion. That was then. But in a different time, with different attitudes, that has become unacceptable. We changed the rules, and it is no longer allowed. I did not do so, but many current Members of the Senate used to accept honoraria, payment for speeches. But over time, with different attitudes, that has become unacceptable. We changed the rules, and that is no longer allowed. We made those changes because an evolving view of public service convinced us that we ought to do so. The changes were not an admission of prior improper behavior. They were not confirmation of ethical misconduct. They were simply a recognition that there had been a change in common perceptions of what is proper behavior. The bill before us now responds to a similar change. It says that along with honoraria, gifts will be banned. Mr. President, this may be new to the Congress, but it is not new to other segments of the world. When I was the CEO of a fairly large company, I prohibited purchasing agents from receiving gifts from potential vendors. I thought there might be a conflict of interest associated with that practice.”