John Spratt: “We will miss a historic, major opportunity to change the way this institution of the Congress is perceived if we do not…”

“We will miss a historic, major opportunity to change the way this institution of the Congress is perceived if we do not add to this rules package before us the ban on gifts from lobbyists which this House passed just months ago by an overwhelming vote of 315 to 111. If we want to open up this institution, if we want to freshen its image, redeem its reputation among the American people, then we need to sever the ties, real and perceived, between those who work inside this institution and represent the people as a whole, and those who work Congress from the outside, the lobbyists, Gucci Gulf, the lobbyists who represent special interests and limited numbers of people.”