Ethics Bill Clears the House in Tight Vote

From the Washington Post:

The House narrowly cleared the way yesterday to vote on an overhaul of congressional lobbying rules after hours of contentious, closed-door meetings yielded a Republican agreement to broaden measures to rein in home-district pet projects and other narrow special-interest amendments.

The 216 to 207 vote followed a tumultuous day in which the measure had to be set aside for five hours while Republicans met in emergency session to revive the faltering legislation. Up to the moment a vote was held last evening, House Republican leaders feared an embarrassing defeat.

But a last-minute deal between House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) and rebellious Republicans on the House Appropriations Committee salvaged the legislation, which is now scheduled for a vote Tuesday.

Hastert promised appropriators that they would not alone be targeted by a provision that requires narrowly tailored "earmarks" be identified by the names of their sponsors and be subject to a special type of vote that could remove them. The leadership pledged to broaden the earmark provision in later negotiations with the Senate so that it will apply to all sorts of legislation, from transportation to taxation.

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--Tom Hayes