ALEXANDRIA, VA -- Congress started the week with a bang, passing and debating a few pieces of legislation of interest to NACS members.
Let’s begin with the Senate.
Closing the Indian loophole in campaign finance law garnered a lot of press coverage this week--particularly in Capitol Hill publications read by members of Congress and their staff. NACS Senior Vice President of Government Relations Lyle Beckwith headlined articles featured in both Roll Call and The Hill that prominently highlight the position of NACS, its lobbying efforts and the efforts of industry allies to support the “Abramoff Loophole” amendment authored by Sen. David Vitter (R-LA). Vitter’s amendment would treat Indian tribes as like all other Americans under U.S. federal campaign finance laws. NACS is leading the lobbying effort to close the loophole, while Indian tribes are pressing hard to strip the fix from the lobbying reform package. NACS cosigned a letter with industry allies and state associations urging members of Congress to support Vitter’s amendment, noting that it “deals more directly with the work Jack Abramoff actually did for his clients than any other provisions the Senate will consider.”
The letter cited a Feb. 7, 2006, Congressional Research Service report stating Indian tribes contributed $25 million in campaign contributions between 2000 and 2005. “These campaign dollars were a primary source of Jack Abramoff’s ability to gain influence for his clients. If this loophole is not closed, then we will undoubtedly see a recurrence of abuses in this area. We ask you to stop those abuses and put everyone on a level playing field by amending lobbying reform legislation,” said the letter. The Senate began debating amendments to the lobbying reform package on Wednesday. So far, the chamber defeated a Democrat substitute, which would have banned lobbyist from buying meals and “gifts” for members of Congress, as well as limit privately funded congressional travel to non-profit 501(c)3 groups.
Also on Wednesday, the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee took up legislation that would make it easier for small businesses to purchase health insurance for their employees. However, the committee decided to postpone mark-up until March 15. The legislation would allow small businesses to pool together through their trade association and purchase group health insurance, dubbed Small Business Health Plans. Much like the death tax, group health insurance legislation has already passed the House on a number of occasions.
The House passed the “National Uniformity for Food Act” by a bipartisan vote of 283 to 139. The legislation would replace a multitude of varying state regulations with a single, uniform national standard for governing food safety and warning labels. NACS joined a broad coalition of food organizations in supporting the bill.
Recapping last week’s Washington Report, Congress sent the Patriot Act authorization bill to President Bush for his signature. The new law will put an end to the anti-meth debate and allow retailers to continue selling cold and allergy medicines containing pseudoephedrine in single-dose packages without keeping records. The provision is good news for retailers, as the original legislation would have restricted the sale of cold and allergy medicines to stores with a pharmacy. While some states may experience additional regulations due to this bill, the very real alternative (that passed the Senate) would have been for all convenience stores to be out of the cold and allergy business…requiring these customers to go to drug stores instead.
Have a great weekend,
John Eichberger
Vice President, Government Relations