Lobbying reform takes hit on Capitol Hill

The House Rules Committee voted down a measure that would create an Ethics Office enlight of the Abramoff scandal. Witnesses who testified said that the only sure way of making sure that there is no conflict of interest when it comes to lobbying is to create an office that would investigate and report on these issues to the congress. The House Rules Committee was taking testimony on how to reform the lobbying process while not hindering the efforts of Members of Congress to educate themselves on the variety of issues that they vote on. Lobbyists are often the people congress goes to because they have the research and can explain the industry practices. The question is when does informing become more like lobbying.